Left 4 Dead: The Gemini Strain
by Chino and Russ and Audo
Summary: Four friends on a road trip, made the wrong stop when an outbreak happens. Story is written in three different styles by Myself, Audo and Russ.
1. Intro

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Intro: Safe Room – Adam

"Sir, please. I am only going to change your bandages." I told the man reassuringly as I nudged his protective hands away a little more firmly than I presumed. Either he was to reluctant to continue his defense or just weak, his hands lost movement as he allowed me to change his linens. It was unclear to me why I bothered at all as my examination of his wounds gave all indication of his soon demise. These deep gashes already becoming putrid, they were numerous all over his torso and some on his arms. From what both Latvia and I encountered since the mass infection it was only the normal citizens apparently rabid with disease. No human could do this with just their own appendages. Wrapping more and more of my precious bandages around his injuries I wanted to ask what had happened to him. Words failed me when my mouth would open to ask.  
"It seems that the Infected outside have been quiet as of late." Latvia said as she checked her watch. "And it only took about 16 hours, Adam." She said with a sarcastic flair. This woman had an uncanny skill to berate my decisions. If her presence around me was not beneficial I probably would have deserted her and risk my way to safety alone. I hated how I had to be the one to think quickly whenever a predicament arose.  
"That happens to be 16 hours we are still alive out here breathing and in one piece." I muttered under my breath. This random dying individual before me was becoming a lot more pleasant than this woman.  
"I would have to say though, Adam, I'm glad you are here with me in this chaos. It is good to know that I have someone who will watch my back." Latvia said with a sigh as she continued to peer surreptitiously out the window of the building we were in.  
"I'm aware of this Latvia..."  
"Have you tried the radio for anything yet?"  
"Not yet. Give me a second" I told her as I finished the man's bandages. He grunted at me which I presumed to be a thank you. I opened my backpack yet again and rummaged around for the small radio. This pack I always carried was nothing short of a genius decision on my end. I would store our ammunition, food, maps, notes, batteries, medical supplies, and valuables inside of it. Though I never took the time to properly organize everything whatever was needed always seemed to turn up readily.  
I handed the small radio to her as she eagerly fiddled with the dials. She held it up to her ear with a happy smile as she listened carefully. Her dwindling glee let me know that yet again all we would receive was static. On rare occasions we had managed to tune into emergency broadcasts with evacuation locations. Sometimes we would hear rogue radio frequencies informing of useless evac locations and various supplies for those listening.  
I sighed and patted her on her shoulder lightly. "Don't worry, okay Latvia? We will be alright as long as we remain level headed and alert." She cast her amber eyes to me and smirked. I gave an awkward grin back as I took a glance out the window.  
It was odd looking down at the discordance of this city from above. The Infected would stumble around in a daze unaware of the world around them.  
"We cannot stay here." Latvia said to me in a small voice. I nodded my head in agreement.  
"I heard," a raspy voice said to us catching us unaware, "I heard that the military is performing evacuations on the top floor of the Regale Hotel."  
"Sir, do you mean the roof of the Regale"  
"Yes, son" The man began to heave to me as I brought out the map of the inner city. This was a lot of distance that needed to be covered by the two of us.  
"Adam, it is much closer to us than Mercy Hospital..." Latvia muttered to me vacantly as she examined the map over the shoulder. I had to agree with her. A shorter route was a far better choice to make.


	2. Conflict

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter I: Conflict – Adam

"Please, will you let us in? This is not right at all!" Though I intended for these words to come out with a strength they stuttered and left empty in the air. My gun was pointed at the group in the same fashion as Latvia and the others. These men seemed fully capable of disposing us and taking all that we had. In a crisis such as what had befallen this world, it hurt to know that we should now fear even each other.  
Latvia and I could not possibly take them at all. Our Berettas were no match for a shotgun, a rifle, and an Uzi. This was nothing more than a stare down that I hoped would end peacefully. There was no need to shed blood and yet looking in the leaders gave me the impression that he and the others would not be far from it. The leader's appearance was disheveled as much as his crew behind him. His face was splotchy with dried blood; his summer wear was anything but clean as it was in tatters. His dark eyes were full of a fire that had all to consumed him. I made a quick glance to Latvia. Her face was resolute and her eyes unwavering. She would make action if necessary. It seemed she had already become aware of their madness.  
"I suggest that you three put down your weapons, NOW!" Latvia practically yelled at them as her grip tightened on her gun. Her stance became stronger and an angry sneer curled up on her lips. I would've taken the time to admire her strength but with these weapons pointed at me in an attempt to end my life certainly hindered that.  
I could not tell you what happened next even to this day. Even when I asked them what had happened all I got was a cocky grin and a pat on the shoulder. Right then, with the five of us at ends with one another


	3. Surplus

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter II: Surplus is a Plus with Me – Robert

Robert looked around the corner; the main street was mostly empty, a few zombies slowly moving around aimlessly. He continued to look around, grabbing at his left arm, he had been attacked by a group of these undead, he had used a first aid kit he had found on a dead corpse, along with a half empty six shooter.  
"....Isn't there anybody else alive?" he said to himself out loud, trying to survive within this city was becoming more troublesome as the days had passed since him and his friends had traveled to the city on a road trip, "....Guess not".  
Robert looked the street over again, a smile grew across his blood covered face.  
Down the street, lights flicked near a store, the smile became a smirk as Robert read the sign aloud to himself, "Guns and Ammo Surplus!"  
If there was a heaven within hell, then this was it. Robert thought as he reached into his jean pocket, pulling out a Colt M1911A1, he loosely held the six-shooter in his left hand.  
Robert slowly made his way onto the street, his smirk soon faded as he saw that a horde of zombies started to rush a pack of wild dogs.  
"Fuck...."

Robert quickly started to run down the street, he aimed his Colt and fired at the closest zombie, he tried to remember his younger days of watching movies and playing games, aim for the head. Robert fired again and again, he tried not to think about his lost friends, his mind questioned, what if these zombies, the scarred ones with pieces of their face missing, if they could be his friends or not.  
"nah...."

Robert threw his now empty colt at a zombie, causing it to fall backwards, he was running full speed now, he had to make it into the store and hopefully hold out.  
Robert smacked into the door of the store, "DAMMIT!" it was locked.  
Robert turned around, sweat was dropping off of his face, a group of zombie moving closer and closer to him, fear was running through his veins like blood. Robert looked around, nothing would help, he wasn't going to just stand there and die, he rushed into the group of zombies, tackling them down onto the ground.  
Robert got up and punched the closet zombie with everything he could, he quickly jumped up and ran towards the store window, "AH!" he yelled out as he jumped through the window.  
Robert lay inside of the store, blood poured from his arms and back, "May...maybe not the best idea...." Robert stood up and looked out the broken window, the zombies had already started to get back up, "Hmm...." Robert jumped behind the counter and looked over the guns.  
The zombies crawled through the window, Robert popped up from behind the counter, holding a M16 assault rifle, Robert smirked and fired.


	4. Protected No More

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter III: Protected No More – Russell

It was amazing how fast they moved to him. In his mind he used to think of the living dead as slow, stumbling creatures, but what he saw in the alley below him was simply horrifying. All he could do was fire randomly into the crowd with his 1/6th STEYR AUG-A1 ( 77) Assault Rifle and pray that he was doing the damage that he wanted too. Suddenly there was a whistle and the man sitting next to him grabbed his shoulder.  
"It's time to go in kid."  
Russell continued to fire until he had emptied his clip. His eyes were wide behind his glasses and he was breathing heavily. He watched as the infected still moved on the ground after he had downed them, watched as they continued to bleed away a life that should not have been, watched as the one's that he had killed not move a muscle.  
"We can still kill them...we have a chance. We have a chance!" Russell dropped his head, his black bangs falling in front of his face. "I have a chance."  
The man next to him stood up and looked down at the kneeling Russell. "It's not the time to be losing it kid. Especially with my ass on the line. If you go postal on my squad then Sarge'll have my ass." Russell looked up at him and for the first time realized that the man before him wasn't just WEARING his army fatigues. It was like the last two nights had been a dream and he had just woken up. His grip tightened on his gun and he also stood after removing a replacement clip from the lower pocket of his cargo pants. He removed the empty one from his gun and placed it in the pocket lowest on his left leg, then slid the full clip home forcing a smile. The two then turned and headed for the door that would take them back down into the building.


	5. The Thoughtful Killer

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter IV: The Thoughtful Killer – Adam

Immediately upon hearing gunshots I crouched down and closed my eyes. You might consider me a coward but I just call it instinct. I forgot where I stood that I had every opportunity to fire at the men and stand stoically by Latvia. I suppose one could only imagine my surprise once I opened my eyes and noticed three dead men and a woman crouching down beside me in the same manner I had been. I did not say anything to her; I was in no position to at this point.  
The men were dispatched clean. Three single bullet wounds to all of these bastards located in their skull. I was shocked. I continued to be more shocked as footsteps sounded from behind me coming closer and then appearing as they pivoted to examine the bodies. The man had a cocky smirk on his face that was chilling to the spine. He began to stare at his bodies in amusement, looking each one up and down as if he now decided that they needed to be sized up.  
As he took the time to search the men for anything useful (already shoving the firearms inside the safe room) I took my own to burn the image of this man into my mind. He was a lanky fellow, his blonde hair was almost cut to the scalp which only made his gaunt face a lot more evident. He was dressed in army pants and from what I could see combat boots. He wore only a black tank top on his chest that heightened the sense of his own frailty. The thing was, even with all this from what I saw I immediately knew he was a dangerous individual. His eyes, cold blue and piercing, lazily looked at us was all the evidence I needed.  
His smile never faltered when he began to look at us. Hopefully he wasn't sizing us.  
He laughed suddenly. A deep, long, uncomfortable laugh. When he spoke to us and ushered his hand to the room I trembled.  
"Are you two coming in?"


	6. Orphanage

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter V: Orphanage isn't the best place to go – Robert

Robert was running, faster than he could have ever believed he could.  
Fear caused this, but this wasn't like being afraid of the dark, this was the fear of death.  
Robert kicked opened the wooden door leading into a rundown orphanage.  
He quickly turned around and closed the door, pushing a nearby dresser in front of it.  
Robert took several very deep breaths, he lean on the wall, looking into the main room, nothing.  
Robert looked at his hands, they were shaking, and he didn't want to think about that poor girl. Rosalina was a girl, younger then himself, she had stunning blue eyes and shoulder long black hair, she couldn't have been more then fifteen.  
Robert cursed out loud, "Why did you have to have that fucking phone....." Robert fell to his knees, thinking about Rosalina and how that zombie jumped from the roof top and landed on her, it ripped and slashed at her, ".....Rosalina" Robert said in a whisper, "Rest in peace...".  
Robert quickly stood back up as he heard a noise of glass breaking, "....come on" he shook his head, he was so tired.  
Robert aimed his Colt and slowly walked into the darkness, his left hand gripping a glow stick he had found.  
"Fuck" Robert mouthed to himself, he heard the already too-familiar moans of the undead.  
He pulled out the glow stick, cracked it and tossed it into hallway as he aimed his Colt.  
Robert's trigger finger couldn't move, he was frozen from the sight before him.  
Zombified kids, babies and teens were all moving towards him, he thought he had seen hell in these last days but nothing made him ready for this.  
Robert looked down the hallway, a window, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a flare, "Hope this works..."


	7. Flare Burst

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter VI: Flare Burst – Adam

I would say that was a smart move of him, it makes me wonder how things would have played out if he did not throw that flare. Would I find him? Would things have turned out the best in the end? Whatever the case would be it shone brighter than anything in the darkness

"Latvia, tell me what you see outside." I asked her as my hand motioned her to the window to see what had caught my eye. She came calmly to me, something that did not seem to match her expressions. She would every now and then shift her eyes to Cassius, hoping that his fixation on examining the weaponry was on a more intellectual basis.  
"Looks like...a flare, Adam. At the old orphanage" She said softly to me as her eyes squinted at the structure.  
"Apparently so, it would seem that you two could make it in short time if you climb down the escape ladder and hustle across the adjacent roof." Cassius said between us in a low voice. Let us just say that his presence terrified us to an extreme now.  
It took me a moment to get my bearings as I looked at him wide-eyed. I noticed that my hand had gone to my **SIG 226 **without realizing it. Cassius did too and arched an eyebrow as if to mock me. Bastard.  
"I'm sure that you two sure are packing heat by the looks of it." he said with a chuckle. "Have these guns..." He said brandishing the shotgun to Latvia and the Uzi to me.  
"That is generous..."  
"Very..." Latvia agreed with me, her voice with the same air of suspicion.  
"The longer you two look at me with those eyes the longer whomever threw that flare has to stay alive" Cassius said with a laugh as he opened up the window.

"You're going to stay here?" I asked with no hint or desire of wanting his presence.

"Oh no, you see I have done my good deed. Next time we meet, who knows?" Cassius said with another laugh as he sat down and began to clean the rifle he had kept to himself.

I turned back to the window and saw that Latvia was already on her way. For some reason I smiled at this and quickly caught up. We made haste. I hoped as we rushed to the orphanage that we would make it.


	8. Jumpy Zombie

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter VII: Jumpy Zombie? - Robert

Robert moved quickly, grabbing the handle of the door and slammed it closed, locking it.  
He took a few steps backwards, turning around to see the front door being smashed in. "Shit!" he aimed his Colt and fired at the door, moving towards the staircase, "The roof is looking like a much better..." Robert cut himself short as the zombies busted through the wooden door, he emptied his Colt into the horde, holding his ground on the staircase.  
"Piece of shit gun" He yelled, throwing the gun down and grabbing the M16 that was around his shoulder, he tighten the muscles in his legs to hold his ground and fired.  
Robert took a deep breath, he had killed them, he could still hear banging on the hallway door, "How in the hell I let them talk me into this trip..." Robert looked his M16 over, empty, "...I'll never know".  
Robert took a few steps backwards onto the next floor when he heard a deep growling noise from behind. Robert turned around, a zombie was kneeling by a broken window, blood dripping from its mouth, horror and anger overcame Robert as he saw the dislocated head of Rosalina, lying next to the zombie's hand, her hair wrapped around its hand.  
They looked into one another's eyes for what seem liked hours, "Your that fucking jumpy zombie that killed Rosalina...." Robert started to reach for his Sniper Rifle as the zombie's growling grew deeper.  
Suddenly the zombie jumped forward, tackling Robert down the staircase, "AHH!" Robert yelled out in pain as his body slammed into the hardwood floor below, he quickly rolled to his side and stood up. The zombie was now standing fully erect, it was just a little taller than Robert, it moved quickly towards him, pulling its arm back to attack.  
Robert rushed forward, tightening the muscles in arms, the zombie swung at him.  
Robert ducked down, dodging the punch, he quickly moved up and punched the zombie in the face with everything he could, it stumbled backwards, "Fuck you!" Robert said, he looked at his hand, it was covered in slime and blood, "Eww".  
The Zombie recovered quicker then Robert could react, it moved and slashed him across the chest. Robert grabbed his chest as the zombie pinned him down again, pulling its arm back to strike again.  
Robert closed his eyes, awaiting the only outcome, death.  
Suddenly, shots rang out.


	9. A Rescue

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter VIII: A Rescue – Adam

Sometimes I like to fantasize that Latvia and I came in guns ablaze and with ample opportunity to escape. The reality of the situation was different of course. We came in weapons ready to see a man get assaulted by some creature that was a lot more dangerous than the common infected. Latvia made short work of the Infected as always as I focused on the assailant. My **SIG 226 **launched the creature off of him with a force that only rivaled my ferocity. I walked straight up to the creature with a stride and aimed my gun at its head, ceasing it flailing as a loud screech exuded from its throat to mark its passing.  
"Adam, he is bleeding fairly bad." Latvia said to me in exasperation, moving a strand of loose raven colored hair out of her face.  
I immediately brought my attention over to the victim and gasped in shock. Robert.  
"Robert, can you hear me?" I asked strongly and yet only receiving feeble and labored breaths.  
"You know him?" Latvia asked with intrigue in her voice.  
"Yes." I responded flatly, already pulling out the medical supplies from my backpack. Quickly glancing over his injuries it was easy to conclude. The slashes were rather shallow, nothing I could not sew up. In all honesty the reason he might have passed out was the fatigue coupled with the shock of the creature. Possibly even emotional distress. After my handiwork on getting this guy better he should recover fairly quickly.  
"Lat, hun, would you go and see if there is some space we can hold up in? Right now this open area does not suit us at all and we can't stay so exposed..."  
Her face was nothing more than terrified at the prospect of having to risk going off alone. I had to give it to her, she swallowed hard and picked up her shotgun with a resolute air and went off with a nod. This was one hell of a woman.  
I was alone with a bleeding, unconscious friend and throng of dead bodies. Pleasant.  
Looking at him though made me elated. If Robert is alive then I'm sure that the others are too. The question that lingered was how did everyone get separated? I know that with the others visiting the seedier element of this city and myself staying at our cheap motel I happened to be quarantined within a section of the city. That was fun.  
"Adam, I found a place that looks like it was used as a sleeping room considering the multitude of cots and blankets. We could fortify it if necessary though." Latvia said out of thin air to me though I was too preoccupied with my thoughts to become frightened.  
"Latvia you're wonderful."  
She gave me a grin and looked at Robert with a face full of pity. "Is he going to be alright?"  
"Yeah, he'll live to see another day. No worries about him turning either considering the length of time since first infection." I told her with a practiced flair. "Would you help me lift him?"  
She nodded her head and we set our sights to the sleeping quarters. He needed to be sewn up and we needed to actually sleep.


	10. Those Times You Really Want a Shower

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter IX: Those Times You REALLY Want to Shower – Russell

He couldn't believe how many of them there were and, not that it was out of character, he felt proud knowing that his ammunition had helped many of them make it into the bank. The squad of U.S. Soldiers that had picked him up had blown a hole in the back of the bank as a last ditch effort to get in for shelter when faced with, what could only be called, a horde of zombies. Luckily they struck gold, literally, and blown their way into the back of the vault. After many hours of gun fire and heaps of wasted ammo, they were able to fortify it into a safe room. Russell dragged his feet over to a wall as his army pal made his way to the sergeant. Russell turned and allowed his back to plop against the concrete and slid down into a lax position. He noticed his shoes had small holes in them.  
"_Ha__."_ He laughed in his head, "Where's a Wal-Mart when you need one?"  
"Russ!"  
Russell snapped his head up and wacked it into the wall behind him.  
"Sunova-!" He grunted just before he felt arms wrap around his neck.  
"I knew you would make it!"  
"Rahnesa?" Russell was all but surprised, mostly happy. He knew his friends would live; he knew they could make it.  
"Baby, who else is here? Is anyone else with you?" Russell asked hugging her tight. He waited, but was only answered by her sobs.  
"After they swarmed the clinic I was so scared. I was r-right behind you until one of them knocked me down, I saw you come back for me..." Russell knew what was coming, "SO WHY WEREN'T YOU THERE WHEN I WOKE UP!?" Everyone in the room was starring at the two, even the older man Russell had left Rahnesa with. With a sigh he pushed her back a small distance so he could look her in her teary brown eyes.  
"Baby, there wasn't enough room on the truck for both of us. I just-"  
Suddenly a load yell rushed in through the make shift safe room door and in followed two soldiers covered in what looked like a combination of the green slime Russell used to see on Nickelodeon and dark green remains of a horrid breakfast.  
"IT FUCKIN' PUKED ON US!" Yelled one of the soldiers. Sarge and Russell's pal walked over to them and both quickly drew their handguns.  
What happened next was pure chaos.  
They both fired once and an explosion rocked the doorway ripping the wall around it too shreds.  
"RUN!!!" Screamed the sergeant just as multiple infected rushed the doorway.  
Some how Russell was able to push past the zombies with Rahnesa and a group of other survivors. It seemed they were more interested in the two soldiers. He let go of Rahnesa and stopped the same old man that he had left her with before.  
"Watch her for just a little while longer! Please!"  
"No! I'm not leaving you aga-!" Russell silenced her with a kiss as he slipped his 9mm handgun into her hand.  
"I know you'll be safe with him and his family, but please if it comes down to it I would rather you fight then run. Be safe." With that He pushed her into the arms of the man and spun on his heel. He heard her screaming for him as he ran back to the safe room, but he knew that he had to do what he was about to do.


	11. My Dream Car!

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter X: My Dream Car! No Time to Celebrate – Russell

Russell spun the corner into the safe room/vault and threw himself into the crowd of zombies, disrupting them enough so that the squad could catch their breath. He quickly curled into a ball and covered his head as the zombies turned on him. After the pain of four or five hits he heard the sound of gun fire. He forced himself up and grabbed the handle of his gun, which was still slung across his back and, while twisting, pulled the trigger. A burst of fire knocked over a few of the undead, killed or stunned he didn't know, and as he fell he knocked down more.  
"GRENADE!" Yelled a soldier, not a second later did an explosion rock the room. Russell scrambled to his feet and quickly snatched up his glasses that had fallen off. He looked around and assessed the damage, dust lingered in the doorway that zombies continued to stumble through; they were quickly taken down by gunfire.  
"_We have to get out of here_!" Russell thought franticly. He readied his AUG-A1 in his right hand and picked up a duffle bag full of ammunition in his left.  
"Guys let's get the dip up out this place!" He yelled as he slung the bag over his shoulder. He helped a soldier up and then waited for no reply; he sprinted out of the door.  
Clear of the dust he rushed down the alleyway screaming at the top of his lungs, drawing the attention of the surrounding infected. Without a moment of humanly hesitation they rushed after him.  
"Not the best idea!" Russell continued to run, gradually getting slower, he did all he could to keep them at bay. Blindly firing behind himself, knocking over trashcans, taking recklessly random turns, he did it all as it came into mind. He felt a thump on the duffle bag and stopped so suddenly he caught himself off guard. Without thinking he sprayed the area in front of him, once again emptying his gun's cartridge. Eight zombies fell over dead.  
Before he could catch his breath another one hit him on his back.  
Russell Spun around and hit it with his AUG and then turned to run from the one's behind him.  
He could see the street not thirty feet ahead of him and an abandoned car with the passenger door wide open sat in front of the alley's exit.  
"Fuckin' Rx-7 bitch!" Russell sped up, "Let the keys be in it!"  
He dived the last three feet into the car and clumsily slammed the door shut behind him. He released the empty clip from his rifle and let it fall, slamming a fresh one into its base. He fired out through the passenger side window. He didn't let go of the trigger until he was empty again. Nothing stood outside of the car.  
Russell quickly slid into the driver's seat, "KEYS!" He let the duffle bag and his AUG sit in the passenger seat. He turned the keys, the engine started, SHIFT, GAS, CLUTCH, SHIFT, and he was speeding down the road. He changed gears up to third and cruised at 43mph.  
Time passed, the car's clock told Russ it was early morning (1:17), time was running out, and so was his gas.

Every now and then he hit a zombie or two that was caught off guard by his high beams. Those were the only times he couldn't stop thinking about Rahnesa.  
"Maybe I could've brought her with me-"  
THUD went a zombie that he had clipped.  
"No, she's not as fast as me, if she had come with me." Russell shivered at the thought and resumed driving in silence.  
He was driving deeper into the city when his luck changed in its normal fashion. He saw a trio of people run across the road a ways ahead of him and put their backs against a building, firing at the horde that chased after them. He decided to just speed through the horde, helping as best he could then continuing on his way, but a few seconds before he hit the undead he noticed two of the survivors.  
"ROBERT! ADAM!"  
Russell ripped the E-brake up turning the car completely sideways. He laid on the horn and closed his eyes a split second before the collisions began.


	12. Proper Measures

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XI: Proper Measures – Adam

The funny thing about Russ that we all understood was that his stupid decisions always seemed to work out in the end. The vehicle made short work of the horde that had forced the three of us to leave the sleeping quarters of the orphanage in great haste. The driver's actions were reckless, his turn ended up slamming him harshly into a wall creating a loud sound of metal bending and parts breaking.  
We three looked stunned at the vehicle for a moment as if unsure what to do. It wasn't until it caught fire that we began to panic.  
"There has to be someone inside, cars just don't drive themselves!" Latvia yelled to us with a tone mixed with excitement and concern.  
Our response to her was a rush to the vehicle, the flames already becoming stronger and the heat becoming more intense. There was no way to see inside. Tinted windows in the late night. Very sightful.  
"The doors locked!" I yelled trying the handle with haste and again receiving no results. Latvia took the shotgun in her hand and powerfully swung it like a bat. Glass shattered. Amazing results.  
"I see him!" Robert said as he then began to choke violently on the smoke that was coming out in droves. Robert had reached in quickly and came out with a rather hefty duffel bag that he tossed aside, ignoring the pain in his chest that had begun to ache again.  
Latvia and I reached in, already gasping for breath in the acrid smoke and pulled out the man onto the ground. I only vaguely at that time noticed it was Russell. I thought I saw a gun lying on the floor and reached for. With a gasp I brought my hand back. It was burning hot. I shifted my focus back to the man who we rescued. Our next actions came suddenly as if we all were in tune. Latvia and I took Russell by the arms and carried him into the nearest door as possible, Robert behind us clutching the bag and a pained grimace on his face.  
I'm not a strong person in the least, but with some untold strength I kicked the heavy wooden door open with ease. We took every chance to get in building and Latvia with untold speed let go of Russ for me to hold and caused a cupboard containing various ugly knick knacks to fall and secure the door.  
An explosion rocked the building that began to leave us all unbalanced and uneasy. I clumsily brought out my SIG 226 and turned on the flashlight attachment. No window in this room and apparently it was a den or basement on how you looked at it. There were couches, a bathroom, and a light switch that I motioned Robert to try out. Success. The room was awash in a dim but ample yellow glow that made us three feel much safer.  
"Only door out over there." Latvia said as she pointed to a door in the far corner that looked as if it leaded upstairs. I nodded and she came back over to me, holstering my weapon back on my hip and helping me put the man on one of the couches that smelled of old moth balls and oddly enough blood and sweat.  
"Is Russ going to be okay?" Robert asked weakly, already having taken a seat and clutching his bandages that from this distance looked as if they were reddening. Not good. Would have to wait on fixing that at the moment.  
"Only unconscious, one hell of a headache when he awakes though." I told him with a sullen face. Other than the blow to his head and smoke inhalation he was perfectly fine.  
"This bag he had has a LOT of ammo in it!" Latvia said with glee as she began to shove shotgun shells into her weapon one by one.  
I rolled my eyes with a grin on my face at her comment. It was rather fortunate though.  
"Russ?" I asked the man hoping to get a response. "Russell...? Russ, c'mon" Still no response. Time for the old Adam force.  
"MARK RUSSELL DOWNING WAKE YOUR ASS UP!" I roared at him and smacked him upside the face. Hard.  
The other two jumped at the uproar but I got my results.  
"Yo." Russ said with a weak grin to me as his eyes opened up. I smacked him again for good measure.  
"What the hell, dude!!" He yelled at me rubbing his face, now alert and upright on the couch. I sighed and made my way back to Robert. My stitches were coming out because of the exertion he had to use so suddenly, not to mention Robert began to look rather woozy.  
I did not show it readily, but I was thrilled that we all were okay.


	13. Dip

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XII: Dip is best served Scared – Robert

Robert laid back as Adam finished stitching up his wounds; he had used a double cross stitch. "Thanks Adam...." he looked around the room, Latvia was lying down on the other couch, hold her shotgun to her chest, "...Russ still in the shower?"  
He watched as Adam nodded, "Try not to move too much, those won't hold if you keep moving" his voice was a bit shaky but firm.  
Robert nodded and closed his eyes, visions of the last week and a half went through his mind.  
Zombies, the sounds of gun fire, the unsettling moans of the undead, Rosaline, death.  
Robert pushed those thoughts from his scarred mind; "What about the others..." he hoped it was more than just them here in this makeshift safe room.

"Well..." He could hear Adam walking around, "Russ says Ray is with the army..." Robert opened his eyes, they were blood shot from little sleep, he watched as Adam looked through his backpack, pulling out a black phone, "This is Theo's phone....found it on the street....so we can't even try to call him"

Robert gave a slight wave of his hand, "You don't want a phone to go off..."  
Robert saw Adam give him a confused look, he hadn't told them about Rosaline, "It's just best if you don't, trust me".  
Robert turned his head as Russell opened the bathroom door, his black hair dripping wet, "I feel better now....." Russell said as he sit down in a nearby chair, drying off his feet. Robert watched them for a minute, Adam checking on Russ' wounds.  
It oddly felt comforting, it reminded him of being back in Russ basement, everybody happy, laughing and joking around, not worrying about zombies busting through the door at any given time, well normally.  
Robert had this question running through his mind for days, though he didn't want to ask it, it had to be done, "Do....Do you think this has gotten out of the city" Adam and Russ both looked up at him, "Could it have reached Tennessee by now....." Robert slowed down, "Or anywhere else?"  
Adam looked puzzled, "I haven't really thought too much about that...." He placed his chin between his thumb and finger, thinking, "It's possible......" Adam went from puzzled to worried.  
"What other places really matter other than our home?" Russ looked a little mad, Robert just shook his head, "No where....just thinking where is safe" He lied, his mind went to Alyssa, he started to picture her screaming for help as a horde of zombies started to eat her alive, he quickly pushed the thought from his mind, "We need a plan".  
"I agree....." Adam said, he looked less worried, his mind surely back to our troubles at hand, "Latvia and I were heading for a evac location-" Russ quickly cut Adam off, "We need to find the army" Russ stood up, "They've been telling everybody there isn't any more safe evac left in the city.....we need to find them".  
Robert watched as Adam shook his head, "Russ...." Adam's voice was more firm and deeper, a sign of anger "The army you want to get back too, so bad....they are the ones that WERE running those evac.....they left their post.....they are leaving the city and whoever is left alive....." Adam looked angered by this, Russ looked a little shocked, "But....they said the evac was useless, to follow them....they even said they were ordered-" Russell looked even more shocked, maybe even sickened, "They were ordered to leave the city at any cost" Russ place his head in his hands, "I can't believe I trusted them....".  
Robert slowly sat up, "Adam.....how far away is your evac?" he knew he had to get them from fighting, "Where is it?"  
Adam looked at Robert and reached into his backpack, "It's at the Regale, on the roof"  
He pulled out a map of the inner city, "It looks to be a few blocks away, towards the north...." Adam looked up from the map at Robert and Russ, "It's the closet and our best bet at this point".  
Russell and Robert both nodded "Agreed" they said in unison.  
Robert watched as Adam woke up Latvia, "It's time that we get-" There was suddenly an explosion from outside, shaking the whole building, Latvia jumped up, aiming her shotgun at the barred metal door, "What in the hell was that?" she was shaking a little bit, Adam started to move closer to her when we all heard it. A roar.  
It was nothing like anything any of them had ever heard before, fear had a new meaning with that one sound, it sounded big, it sounded loud and to top of everything else happening to them, it sounded mad.  
Russ turned and walked towards the couch, "You know....that hotel is sound better by the minute" Russell helped Robert up, "I want as much space between myself and that thing as soon as possible" everybody nodded in agreement.  
Latvia moved in front of everybody and next to the exit door, she looked back at us and cocked her shotgun, "Then let's dip"


	14. Incoming Transmission

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XIII: Incoming Transmission – Adam

A loud, garbled static came so suddenly it made us all freeze at the door. Our expressions would have been priceless if we all were not concerned about what and where that noise was coming from.  
"The hell...?" Russ began to say mirroring the awkward and scared expression we all were exuding.  
"Where is it coming from?" Latvia spoke in a meek voice.  
"I'm not sure" I muttered in a low voice. It was Robert who was the one to figure out the source.  
"The sound is coming from your backpack, Adam." He said politely with his ear outstretched. I was all too ready to assault him with a rather degrading and profane retort when it came to me.  
"Latvia, did you turn off that radio from before?" I asked her with a serious tone as I headed back to the couches and began to peruse through my belongings. Russ seemed ready to question my actions but kept it to himself. At least he understood my tone when I spoke.  
"I thought I did..." She answered me hesitantly as she came over to me as if she would help look for it. After much scavenging I found the contraption and held up the small radio for all to see. It brought a lot less interest than I had presumed.  
The static was the same. It was odd that there was no transmission and yet a giant surge of radio waves. I looked at it with a sigh all to ready to exhale.  
"Try the stations, Adam." Latvia said to me encouragingly as I fiddled with the dials. I only managed to receive varying degrees of static. Fun.  
"I know how to solve this problem!" Russ exclaimed and before I could protest, snatched the radio out of my hands and tossed it against the floor harshly with a resounding crack. My gun was already pointing at his head now.  
"Adam, calm down!" Robert said with haste, urgency in his voice. I thought I heard someone else say something to me but my voice overwhelmed theirs.  
"What the hell WERE YOU THINKING, RUSSELL!!" I boomed at him. My temper was flaring off and an angry scowl lit my face. I would not be one to blanch at committing murder. He looked at me with a frightened face at first but it slowly changed to a cocky smirk.  
"You don't have the balls to shoot me, Adam." He said flatly to me. He was trying out a gamble, shame I would not fall for it. The unfortunate thing was that I had an Uzi pointed at me now.  
"Adam, put your gun down. I'm not going to let anyone else die." Robert said, his voice stammering at his action.  
"Shame that you would have to kill me then if Russ...bit the bullet so to speak" I said in a deep voice. Why was I so angry? Better yet, why was I tempting fate?  
"How about you all quiet down and listen to the radio, something is coming up." Latvia said as she shoved the two weapons away from their targets and held the radio out in front of the four of us.  
"What?" I exclaimed amazed at the situation. I holstered my weapon and listened in intently to the small contraption. I ignored the stunned looks from the two others and did my best to interpret the message it was broadcasting.  
"Evac points have been found to be over run or discontinued: Due to word of military collapse and abandonment, Regale Hotel, Mercy Hospital, and Shepherd's Skyscraper have been reported as dangerous and non profiting extraction points. Only hope now is local or independent means of escape. Also reports of global scale infection. We of the Survivors warn and wish you luck on staying alive." The radio chirped before crackling in Latvia's hand causing her to drop it in shock where it began to catch aflame. Great.  
"That was informative..." I said all too calmly as I sank into the dingy sofa.  
"Adam, are you okay? You're pale..." Latvia said to me concerned as she sat next to me.  
The severity of what we just heard was intense. My mind was jumping now. I might have been on the edge of intense panic when I go back to hearing that news that night.  
We all sat in silence. Everyone was now aware.  
"Well, the radio worked and we got this bad news, right?" Russ said as if that would validate his actions before. He was right about the importance of knowing that the hotel was abandoned now, however. The outcome of being stuck on that roof with no hope for rescue would have been excruciating. I opened my mouth as if I had some kind of idea but quickly closed it shut. Latvia grabbed my shoulder, doing her best to console me.  
"What do we do...now that no options are present?" Robert said softly. Uncomfortable to hear worded aloud but it was necessary to understand. That's Robert for you.  
I said nothing at all in response. Latvia did though with a forced strength.  
"The broadcast said that we have independent aircraft at possibilities for an escape. There might also be boats and other marine vessels that would do the same. That leaves the question as to how we would contact these for rescue..." She pulled the map deftly out of my bag and spread it out for all of us to see. Unzipping a compartment on my backpack she brought out a Sharpie marker and circled our location on estimate. "Any ideas?"  
"Police." I muttered.  
"What about the police?" Russ asked with confusion. "I'm sure that the police have been eaten or zombified right now, dude."  
"That isn't it, Russ." Robert piped in. "This city is expansive. It would make sense to have some kind of radio or channel that would allow us to contact police vehicles of any nature or even various local vehicles."  
"Great!" Latvia said with glee and shifted her focus back to the map. Upon finding her mark she circled it and labeled it Police. It was almost 6 miles away from out location. This would be tough.  
"Alright!" Russ exclaimed jubilantly and stood up as the others did also after I put everything back inside my bag. We made our way back to the exit, Latvia tossing a broken chair leg to him as a weapon as casually as she would please. He chuckled.  
"It's good to know that we all are on the same page again!" He said with a tone that was way to excitable. "Not like anyone would go around killing one another, right Adam? Like you would honestly kill me."  
"Latvia are you going to take the lead?"  
"Yeah, Adam."  
I purposefully left Russ hanging. He brought it up once months later to me asking if his luck had not rubbed off on the radio, would I have shot him. I told him that odds would not have been in his favor. Whichever way he took it I told him with a smile that he saved my ass enough throughout that hellish nightmare his luck might have rubbed off on me. He responded that it was okay. He had to make a decision about my life enough that it was bothersome anyway he told me as he laughed and walked away to busy himself with something. I'm still not sure how to respond to that one.


	15. Whispers

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XIV: And the Whispers We Left Behind – Russell

Russ hated having to sneak around the back alleys. Not because he was some sort of brave hero, but because of the fact that it scared the shit out of him. He would rather know what's coming up then walk around the corner like he had just done and smacked into an infected. The two fell down, but Russ knew he had to hurry. He quickly scrambled onto his knees and smacked the already standing zombie in the knee with his makeshift melee weapon, causing it to fall again, then proceeded to rain blows down onto its head until he felt a reassuring crunch.  
"Pretty hardcore Russ." Said Robert as he helped him up.  
"Suck me Chino." Russell replied, "Shooting it would've attracted more."  
"I was just saying, damn."  
Russell wasn't normally this short, especially with his friends, but life has gotten pretty rough the last few days. He tapped the broken chair leg on the wall next to him, giving the all clear.  
Adam and Latvia came around the corner.  
"So much for stealth." Said Latvia.  
Russell imagined slapping her on the back of her head.  
"_At least I can still keep violent acts under control, my mouth on the other hand._.."  
Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder.  
"Calm down Russ." Said Adam. Russell looked down at his hands and noticed they were shaking. "Killing anything isn't an easy thing to do when you're looking it face to face."  
"You're wrong. I just have to think of this like a computer game. Simple point and click interface."  
With that the group continued to move in quiet, Robert taking the front with Latvia and Russell in the center; and Adam bringing up the rear.  
It was rough for all of them to realize how easy killing had become. At one point Robert even looked down at his gun, repeating Russell's words in his head.  
"_Simple point-and-click...yeah, that's about right._"


	16. Adam The Saint

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XV: Adam the Saint – Adam

It seemed that everyone happened to be on edge more than I had presumed when we were holed up in the den. Russ would mutter some things to himself that seemed almost as violent as his actions toward the Infected. Even with those kind words I managed to grace him with he still seemed to be on edge. I stopped caring about what I said to him soon enough. Seems me playing nice guy only worked with the others and not him. I made a mental note of that.  
Robert seemed to be thinking of something serious from what I could tell from my position at the back of the group. His face was one who had seen way too much. I noticed that he had a slight limp from his attack. I considered pointing it out to him later.  
Latvia was always glancing around even when the coast was clear when we would receive that signal from Russ. Her eyes never showed fear when she looked but her body did. Her hands were shaking as she held her shotgun close to her chest as if it was a shield against all evil. How quaint. My thoughts wandered to whether or not I should talk to her and calm her down; she gave me no time to reach a decision however.  
"Adam," she asked me tentatively as her steps slowed to match mine. "I'm scared."  
"No kidding." I replied coldly to her, not even bothering to look in her direction.  
"That's to be expected from you..." she muttered sadly enough for me to frown but honestly enough to make me wince.  
"I'm sorry, Lat" I said to her soothingly, wrapping an arm around her as we waited for yet another signal from Russ.  
She sighed thankfully at my touch, her hands becoming much calmer. Her words seemed much sterner than I have ever heard from her. "Do you remember Cynthia and Kyle?" she asked me with no hint of emotion present on her lips. I glanced at her confused. Even her eyes told me nothing.  
I took in a deep breath and let it out. I had a feeling where this conversation would lead. "Yes, it was unfortunate what happened to them.  
"You mean when Cynthia was dismembered and Kyle bled to death?" she asked me coolly. I winced again. She sure knew how to get under your skin.  
"Yeah that..." I agreed at last to her. Now I was not sure where this was going at all anymore.  
We walked with the group in silence. Russ turned to us and told us what street sign he saw. I pulled out the map and looked at closely in the dim light. We only had two flashlights. One was a large one I gave to Russ so he could lead. The other was the one that was attached to my SIG 226. We needed to find more light at some point.  
Knowing where we needed to go, we all followed Russ in a fashion all too familiar at this point. Like zombies. I had a feeling that everyone seemed to grow more agitated and listless as our trek continued. If only this stress was not present amongst us.  
"Adam." Latvia said to me again in a manner that made me jump. She always seemed to catch me off guard. "Don't ever let that happen to me."  
I was taken aback by her words. I would never leave her to die like Kyle did to Cynthia. "I won't let that happen, Latvia."  
"Promise me." she said to me, her voice becoming more choked as I looked into her watery eyes. She was beginning to cry.  
"I promise, Lat. Please don't cry." I told her nicely, digging in my pocket for something to wipe her eyes on. She insisted on using my sleeves for that and to wipe her nose. Great.  
I took the opportunity to head over to Robert. I might as well try to absolve all problems in our group. I'm just a little paragon am I not?  
"Robert, how are you holding up?" I asked him with a playful tone. Don't ask me why I chose to speak in that manner.  
"I'm alright, what about everyone else? You have no need to worry about me." Robert said absently. It almost seemed as if he was not there.  
"That's bullshit and you know it, Robert." I told him politely and with a grin I made all too sure that he understood. "You were attacked by a creature, bandaged already poorly, and bleeding profusely. Gee, I have nothing to concern myself over than do I?"  
"There is no need to be sarcastic, Adam." Robert told me sternly.  
"Yes there is, Robert." I told him, my grin shifting to a look of sympathy and my voice becoming gentle. "If you do not want to tell me why or how or when, suit yourself. You need to understand though that as long as you are with me I will not devalue you in the least. You are as much of a concern to me as the others here."  
"Is that a good thing coming from you, Adam?" he said with a smirk. He knew me all too well at this point.  
"You would be surprised, Robert. Things are not the same. I seem to have compassion at this point in my life." I answered him with a shrug. "I in the least will do my best to make sure that you are taken care of at least physically if you won't let me emotionally."  
Robert opened his mouth as if ready to say something but what we heard in the air took precedence over his words.  
"SURVIVORS AT THE POLICE STATION. SAFE AREA WITH FOOD AND SUPPLIES." we heard garbled in the air. A loudspeaker? Russ came to us all with excitement on his face.  
"And on top of that we are getting close to it!" Russ said with glee that now was its own form of contagion.


	17. Police Station Snafu

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XVI: Police Station Snafu – Robert

Robert limped behind the rest of the group, he questioned to himself how far they could keep this up, that maybe he should have stayed with everybody else and not answered his cell, causing him to fall behind the group when the outbreak started.  
Robert leaned to the side and saw that Russ had stopped and was looking over another corner, Adam had his hand resting on Latvia's shoulder, who looked to be calming down.  
Robert shook his head, if he had not stopped to answer his phone, then he wouldn't have met Roselina, "....I'm sorry" he said to himself, maybe she would have lived longer if not for him showing up.

Adam looked back at Robert, "Did you say something?" the way he spoke was like when an adult asked you something, when they already knew the answer

"....it's nothing" Robert brushed it off for now, he didn't want them to know about Roselina.

"How far are we to-" Russ suddenly moved forward, beyond the corner, swinging his make-shift melee weapon, "Shit!" his voice sounded odd, something was wrong.  
Everybody quickly turned the corner, a young girl was lying against the building, her upper left arm was bleeding, she was shaking and about to cry.

"Dammit Russ!" Robert said, limping over to the girl, he kneel down, "Are you okay?" the girl slowly moved away, she shook her head, she had shoulder long black hair, her eyes were a very light blue, bloodshot as well, "We won't hurt you.." Robert shot a pissed off glare back to Russ, his point-and-click mindset wasn't going to keep working if he continued to do things like this, Robert returned to looking at the girl, "....what is your name?" his voice was softer, he had check her wound, she looked up at him.

"....Lucy" her voice was soft but cracking, she was holding back the tears.

"that's a lovely name....Lucy can my friend look at your arm" Robert pointed back towards Adam, he had moved closer, she nodded her head.  
Robert stood up as Adam looked her arm over, "it'll bruise up but she will be fine" Adam smiled at the young girl, he reached for his backpack, he opened a side pocket and pulled out a piece of candy, "Here you go little Lucy" she happily took it and opened it, "Thank you mister" she popped it into her mouth, Adam smiled and stood up.

"We need to get moving...." Adam said turned towards Robert, who replied with a nod, "Agreed." Robert turned to look at Russ, who was now standing at the other end of the alleyway, looking the street over.  
Robert looked down at the girl, "Lucy...we need you to come with us...." Lucy slowly stood up and moved over to Robert, grabbing his leg.

"....Are we going to run?" Robert looked confused, "If you don't want to walk...I will carry you"

Lucy shook her head, "Mommy said run....don't hide....they will find you no matter where you hide...." Lucy lowered her head, "She told me that before they ate her......"

Robert looked at Adam, his face lost a little color, the thought of her having to watch her mother being ate alive was quite sickening, "....we are going to the police station....we will be safe" Robert said to Lucy, kneeling down, "I'll carry you on my back" Adam was about to disagree but Robert waved him off, Lucy hopped onto his back, he slowly stood up, pain shooting up his leg.

"It won't matter....nowhere is safe".

Robert continued to try and reassure Lucy until she fell asleep, "What are we going to do?" he asked Adam, who had taken up the rear as Latvia and Russ were in the lead.  
"I'm not sure....make it to the station....and work it from there" Adam's mind seemed to be else a little bit, Robert nodded, they continued down another alleyway, he turned his head and looked at the sleeping Lucy, her head resting on his shoulder, he told himself that he wasn't going to let her die.  
They all moved into the open street, the police station was just a few buildings down from them.

"Yes!" Russell said aloud which was quickly met with a slap from Latvia.

"What are you doing?!"

Russell just smiled, "No zombies, clear shot to the station" Russell happily lead the way towards the station.  
Adam was looking around them, there may have been no zombies in the street but they could be within the buildings or the alleys, "Something....seems off about this" Adam continued to look around, he spotted a city tower with a big bell at the top and then something flashed from atop the police station, "Move!" he yelled as a shot rang out.  
Everybody looked towards the roof, a man was standing near the edge, holding a sniper rifle in one hand and a loudspeaker in the other.

"Latvia....please tell me that isn't who I think it is" Adam's voice sounded very worried and scared, his face soon matched it when Latvia nodded her head.

"Cassius..."

Cassius lifted the loudspeaker to his mouth, "Survivors....I've modified this simple police station to withstand an attack from a small army....but" He looked towards us, Everybody felt fear rushing down their spines, "As the last group of survivors arrive....it's time to test out my safe haven" he lifted and point his sniper towards the bell tower, "When that bell rings, any and every of those blessed zombies will come to it and-" he fired, hitting something near the bell, it swung and a loud ring rung out, "When they reach it, they will find the station and assault it, wanting nothing more to kill all of you....."

All of us where frozen with shock and disbelief.

"....Survivors..... You've all claimed to see hell on earth....I disagree with you.....I've rigged the bell to continuously ring.....stop it....stop the horde of zombies that are coming.....because until it's stops, they won't stop coming and coming.....good luck" with that Cassius walked away from the edge.  
We all stood there as the bell continued to ring out.

".....What....what are we going to do?" Latvia asked, her voice was nothing but filled with fear.  
Lucy moved her head from Robert's shoulder, "....die"


	18. It Tolls For Me

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XVII: Don't ask for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for me – Adam

Before Lucy even had finished her word I was already repeating it in my head at an alarming rate, almost in sync to the ringing of the bell.  
_We are going to die. We are going to die.  
_ I was beginning to panic.  
"Adam!" Latvia yelled out at me as she grabbed my arm. "Are, you listening? I said hurry to the station!" she yelled forcefully, waking me from that stupor as I noticed that our group had already begun to make it to the police station. I also realized that she was dragging me before I noticed that I was making no effort to run. I gathered all I could from within myself and ran with her to the station's entrance.  
It seemed that the station had its own fair share of attacks and riots from the massive amounts of sandbags, bodies, and mounted guns that littered the area. There were not an abundance of bodies to leap over to get there fortunately so we made good time. My senses seemed delayed once my feet were near my friend's own. There was a small throng of survivors around us. Some were wide eyed, their own weapons poised for the eminent attack that was bounding along the road towards us. Others were grabbing conveniently placed weapons and taking point on the minigun turrets. My senses were numb but my words came without thinking. Maybe they did come with thought, just not a conscious one.  
"Robert, take Lucy and find some place inside to hold down." I told him in a voice not my own. "ANYONE ELSE INJURED OR YOUNG FOLLOW THESE TWO!" I yelled to the crowd as I pointed my assault rifle in the air to indicate my presence. I have no recollection of when the hell I picked it up over there at the police station entrance, or how I had a managed to fit three handguns in my cargo pants without memory of it. Talk about one's own desire to live. Robert looked at me incredulously for a moment, then took Lucy and hurried inside. I could trust Robert.  
Russ seemed to be at home in the chaos oddly enough. He was already taking point with a weapon of his own, instructing all those that would listen on methods to hold out. I vaguely saw that he was talking to someone familiar, but attention was drawn away as I noticed a grenade sticking out of his pants pocket. Ready for anything like always. Hopefully it would work as effectively as anyone amongst us here would presume.  
"Adam!" I heard Latvia say to me again, waking me from yet another daze. Her face was intense as she stared at me, commanding all of my attention to her. She took precedence over the gunfire that was coming from everyone. "I got a small group to go take out that bell!" She yelled through the din as she brandished her free hand to two other individuals. I have no idea how I managed to hear her.  
She looked at me expectantly, fear hidden away and replaced with an adamant calm. Was I supposed to be the leader of this group?  
_I don't want to be, I want to hide. I want to escape.  
_"Alright everyone, follow me!" I shouted to them as I quickly made my way towards the bell tower. This way was not free from the Infected. The horde was not coming from this direction but the numbers were enough to bring renewed fear of being so close to that which would cause death.  
_We are going to die. We are going to die._  
As each infected human fell from our bullets as we raced to the bell tower I thought of Cassius. That bastard was the receiver of every bullet from my weapon. That bastard was every zombie that fell. What was the point of trying to kill us? Was all this just a sick game to him? An excuse to play God? Was the closing of the bell tower's entrance door behind us just an allusion to him shutting the door to our tomb?  
Oh how I would learn a lot of Cassius upon the course of that nightmare in the city. His desire, his longing, his twisted ideas. How he would save me. How he would try to kill me. How he would try to love me. How this man would do anything as long as it compelled him. And after all that which he had put all of us through I would learn why in the end I chose to save him. Why I would save that son of a bitch from a fate that he deserved.  
All I knew at this moment with Latvia and myself was that this man was beginning something...and we intended to stop it at all costs. With Russ taking the entrance with its support fire or Robert consoling Lucy and the other young or injured that we would all make it out alive somehow gave me strength of my own. They were counting on us four in this tower as much as we were counting on them holding off the horde from such heaven in hell.  
_We will make it. We will make it._


	19. The Tower of Babel

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XVIII: The Tower of Babel – Adam

"This tower will be our graves on this day..." I muttered slowly as my assault rifle relaxed along with my body as the four of us looked around.  
"Don't say things like that, Adam." Latvia told me in a whisper that only I could hear. The face she gave me was unexplainable and yet it made my spirit drop more than I could imagine.  
Our associates in this mission were rather hardy looking. I can hardly recall however, what they looked like as people. I only remember that I called one Red because of his shirt and the other Grandpa because of his age. They were not the most friendly or polite nicknames but frankly they did not concern me at all.  
I looked around much faster than the others as I already surmised our location. The structure of this tower was simple if not extremely long. I spiral staircase that seemed almost ancient looped upwards from what I could see. There was probably a hatch at the very top.  
"This bell tower is a historic landmark for this city so it is a bit old." Grandpa said to us right before he almost hacked up a lung. How pleasant.  
"Seems pretty straight forward, then." Red agreed as Latvia took the front of the group and I followed behind her in haste.  
My chest was beginning to hurt. I did my best to dismiss it.  
They came readily enough. The door was already being pounded on with such ferocity  
the two behind us took a stand in expectancy. That was the right idea on their part because the door burst open with such force it rattled the foundations of the stairs.  
"They're coming!" Red yelled as if we all were not aware as he and Grandpa unloaded into the mass of Infected that were pouring out of the collapsed door. Latvia and I could not help but assist with the fire. As wave after wave fell the regrettable happened. We ran out of ammo.  
"Move it!" I yelled to Latvia as I renewed my rush up the stairs. I glanced behind me to see if she was following. She wasn't.  
"Latvia!!"  
My gaze shifted to where hers was. The two were pushing the Infected back with the butt of their guns. They were overwhelmed faster than I could say anything else to Latvia. It was then I saw what that last stand Red had in mind.  
"Latvia!" I yelled again as he dropped the live grenade and my world exploded before my eyes. Dust and the smell of charred flesh invaded my lungs. If we did not hurry soon...  
"Adam!" Latvia called to me, a voice full of fear. "Help me!"  
I squinted amidst the dust and saw her hanging from the edge of the stairs. That grenade had caused the old structure to have the bottom section of the stairway blown apart as much as the two survivors and the horde that encircled them. I hurried to her but it was too late as she fell down with a terrified scream.


	20. Jingle Bells

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XIX: Jingle Bells for an Unwelcomed Hell – Russell

A quick survey of the area outside gave Russell the biggest adrenaline surge he'd gotten yet. Walls had been erected out of plywood and barbed wire that stood nearly twelve feet high on each side of the building and stretched out halfway into the third lane of the six-lane main road. Three mounted guns sat spread apart equally in the shape of a triangle in the walled off area; the gun at point slightly back so that its sides were not exposed. He looked into the window to his left that faced the street and saw another mounted gun placed in it.  
"_That'll be our last defense if the first three fall._" He thought to himself, "You, You, and Me!" He shouted loudly pointing at one woman and one man, "Let's go!"  
With that he ran out the door catching most of the survivors by surprise, but a second later he heard bullets whizzing by his ears as they provided cover for the three. Russell reached his turret first, which was the one on the far left, and squeezed the trigger.  
Now what happened next made Russell piss himself, a stick slid out of the barrel of the gun and a white flag unrolled with the word "**BANG!**" in bold black letters on it.  
He vaguely noticed the yells of the other two as they fell victims to a similar fate.  
The man's gun back fired, tearing his hand to shreds and the woman's just fell apart.  
Russell, his pants darkened, fell to his knees as the infected washed over the bleeding man; absorbing his horrified screams. One zombie dived at Russell, its eyes glassed over and gray, right before its head exploded and the whirl of a Gatling gun rang in Russell's ears.  
He watched as zombies fell before him almost like magic, then a grenade wet off a ways ahead of him snapping him back into his horrid reality.  
"Dammit, Russ, MOVE!" Yelled Theo as he began to fire in bursts in order to keep the turret from overheating.  
He had to run.  
"_The girl!_" Russ picked up his two handguns from each side of him and shockingly dodged bullets over to the fallen woman.  
Her arm had been torn out of socket and her lower jaw hung limply. Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him, he pulled back the hammer of his Colt 1911 handgun, she closed her eyes; he ended her life.


	21. The Tower of Babel ll

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XX: The Tower Babel – Adam

"Latvia!" I screamed aloud as I tried my best to peer through the still dense amount of dust and debris. The dim light that came from a few light bulbs down towards that bottom were destroyed leaving little if no light to grace the depths.  
"Latvia!" I yelled again into the blackness, fumbling to grab my SIG 226 and shine it into the darkness. "Please answer me!"  
My breathing was becoming more labored every second.  
Her voice was a beacon that gave me hope. Her voice was what kept me going. Her voice was what made my heart leap. Her voice was an indication of her life. "Adam..."  
"Are you okay?" I yelled to her a tad bit frantically, finding my gun and shining its light downward. She looked frazzled as she looked above her collapsed position at me with wild eyes. Her descent into the abyss had been a short one, though uncomfortable. I was in the back of my head hoping that she would not look down and see what had broke her fall. Corpses.  
"Yeah..." She replied weakly to me. She glanced down to my chagrin and froze for a moment. That brief pause brought no change to hear face as she looked up at me, a question on her lips. "Are you okay, Adam?"  
_No. I have to hurry or else I won't make it in time.  
_"I'm fine." I wheezed at her. I swept my flashlight around her to look for something. Without seeing it I decided to just ask. "Lat, do you know where your shotgun is?"  
She shook her head no at me. Odds are it was lost among the debris. I told her to hold on and began to dig through my backpack. I found ammo for the assault rifle I had and replaced the magazine in it.  
"Heads up!" I said to her as I carefully dropped the rifle down to her. She looked grateful but her voice was still hesitant.  
"Adam, you have to stop that bell!" she said to me with eyes wide open.  
"I know..." I replied with a wheeze coming from my throat. I looked up toward the steps with a heart now filled with dread.  
_Dammit. I want to give up.  
_"Adam, go now! I'm going to make my way back to the station and help the others!" she told me, holding the weapon surely in her grip.  
I did not respond to her and instead brought my hands to my neck as I pulled out my necklace from underneath my shirt. It was a chain necklace with an old key wrapped in aged twine, a simple trinket but it meant a lot to me. "Catch!" I told her as I dropped the necklace into her open palm. She looked at quizzically at first and then looked at me with a weak smile.  
"When this is all over I want you to hand that back to me, okay? It's a promise that we will make it out together, alright?" I asked her. She smiled again at me and with a nod and a deft right hand she attached it to her neck. She turned toward the busted door and scaled over the debris and corpses to it.  
"Latvia!" I called to her one more time, causing her to turn suddenly to my visage above. "Be safe."


	22. Don't Trust A Rigged Gun

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XXI: Don't Trust a Rigged Gun – Robert

Robert pushed Lucy inside of the Police Station. He took a quick look around the main room, eight medium sized windows each side of the room, most of which had been boarded up with thin wood and some with metal pipes and a single wooden door on the left side.  
A small group of survivors stood near the back of the room. "Where are the kids?" Robert asked, he was breathing heavily, he felt something cold running down his left leg, blood.  
An older women stood up, "My husband went to help stop that running....told us to keep the kids back in jail cells" the older lady replied, she was scared, they all were.  
Robert looked at the three, a girl older then himself, and two guys about his age, "Can you take her back there?" He asked the old lady, who replied with a small nod. Robert looked back to the three, "What weapons do we have here?" Robert looked back towards the front as shots started ringing out, "....Shit".  
The blacked haired teen jumped up, "I'm Ken.....we've got a few handguns, a working mini gun we placed over there" Ken pointed towards the right wall, Robert cursed himself for not noticing it when he looked the room other, he was tired plus the blood he was losing was causing him to overlook stuff, "We also have a few automatic shotguns, rifles and a few other things back behind this door" Ken then pointed towards the door right behind the group, "Thought it would be best to protect our ammo, better than some damn kids"

Robert punched ken, knocking him over, "Fuck you!" Robert walked over him when the teen jumped up, "Who do you think you are?!" He pointed his pistol at Robert, the girl moved between them, "Please stop this Dan....we've all been through a lot this last week....let's just get passed this too"

Although living through this seemed impossible, Robert agreed with her words, "Help me up....one of you guard the way into the jail cells" Robert pushed opened the door into what was once the Chief of Police's office. It had been modified to hold all types of weapons.  
Robert walked over to a table, he looked it over, all sorts of knifes and daggers.  
"Hmmm..." Robert sat down his gun and picked up a dagger with a 10" blade, he took its cover and buttoned it to his belt as he walked over to the rack of automatic rifles; Robert smiled as he took an M-16 from the rack and stuck a few clips into his pants.

Robert stood next to the girl, her name was Lily, "....It sounds like a war outside" Robert said, his body was there but his mind wanted to know how was Russ doing, how far had Adam made it but those thoughts were quickly taken from him when a group of zombies busted through one of the windows, "Fire!" Dan, Ken and Lily all opened fire with their handguns as more and more zombies started to push through, doing whatever it took to get to the survivors.  
Ken stopped firing and ran over to the mini gun, "Die you fucking zombies!" Ken pulled the trigger and at the base of the gun it started jerking wildly, "Wha-" Dan had moved down the few steps and into the line of wild fire, "No!" Ken yelled out, letting go of the mini gun, it still fired off, it had been rigged, Dan's body had been ripped apart from the armada of bullets that was flying across the room.  
"Move!" Robert yelled out, pushing Lily down as the line of fire crossed over them, "Take over that gun Ken!" Lily yelled at the top of her lungs, "Do something!"  
Ken was in a state of shock from killing his friend, "Ken!" Robert and Lily both yelled out.  
Ken shook then moved forward, he grabbed the handles and did his best to point towards the undead.  
Robert helped Lily up and they both started firing into the crowd, "Dammit!" Robert said as the bell rung out again, "We need to move bac-" Robert was cut off as a zombie jumped from across the room and landed on Ken, tearing him apart.  
Ken yelled out for help as Robert pushed Lily backward, his eyes were filled with rage, "Mother!-" Robert swung his M-16 from around his shoulder, "Fucking!-" The Zombie looked up from Ken's dead body, blood poured from its mouth, Ken's guts hanging from its mouth, "Jumpy!-" It lowered its body closer towards the ground, "Zombie!" Robert fired as the zombie jumped towards the wall, he had missed, "Your not getting-" he cut himself off as the zombie jumped passed him and tackled Lily down.  
Robert quickly turned around, spraying bullets as he turned, the zombie lay dead.  
Robert fired into the crowd, they were starting to get passed the walls they had made. "Come on Lily...." Robert looked Lily over, blood was pouring from bullet wounds to her right arm, chest and forehead, Robert couldn't believe it, he had killed her, ".....No-" He threw up.  
Robert slowly stood up, a zombie moaned out from behind him, he quickly turned around and hit it with the butt of his gun, causing it fall backwards, knocking down another zombie, "AHHHHH!" Robert yelled out as he fired wildly into the crowd.  
Robert only started to move backwards, towards the jail cells once he heard the click of his M-16, he had emptied it out.


	23. The Tower of Babel lll

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XXII: Babel – Adam

I almost wished that I could have had a gun all the time, it made short work of locked doors and hatches.  
I pushed the old wooden hatch open with a grunt as a much louder sound of the bell ringing assaulted my ears. There would be no chance to hear other than that ringing as I finished climbing the ladder up to the bell.  
The sound disorientated me as I could feel each pulse in my already burning chest. I took a brief moment to survey the top of the tower. It appeared that the roof of the city hall was attached to that of the clock tower from the looks of how close it was to the landing. On the other side, however, was an alleyway that would be a sure drop down.  
My chest was burning.  
I looked the bell over. What the hell was making it just ring continuously? It was then that it caught my eye. An electronic pad. I suppose that the bell was based off of an electric current. This pad probably was used to schedule the ringing of the bell, most like during important events or midnight. The odd thing about it however was that a knife was sticking out of the machine. Without thought I quickly grabbed its handle and yanked it clean out. There was a series of sparks and then the bell slowly came to a halt.  
I looked at the knife in my hand. It was a lethal looking blade that was the length of what I would assume to be a short sword. It was then something came to me. Didn't Cassius SHOOT the bell and not stab the control mechanism? If there was a knife causing this malfunction instead of the bite of a bullet, how did Cassius manage to set this up? Does that mean that he had help with this set up?  
I couldn't dwell on it any longer. Amidst the feeble cheers of those alive I was on my knees trying to breathe. Asthma really makes things difficult. The dust from that explosion must have set off my symptoms. It is a scary thing not being able to draw breath. How ironic it would be for me to die of asphyxiation instead of the Infected tearing me to shreds.  
Now the oddest thing happened then as I gasped for air.  
I got punched.  
I was not able to see who had assaulted me but it was enough to send me down to the floor with a garbled moan of pain coming from my throat. It didn't end there as a swift kick to the side caused me to sweep across the floor of the tower. I wasn't sure exactly what happened next. I remember blacking out in pain and without breath. I remember hearing a single shot fired from a gun and something warm and fluid running over me.  
I noticed upon waking in a strange room and with a grinning Cassius close to my face that I might just be properly fucked. It was then I began to cry in defeat.  
"Oh don't cry, Adam." Cassius told me as he rubbed the top of my head with a calloused hand. "You think that I would let you just die with all the others? That would be too easy."


	24. Sheep in The Grasp of The Hunter

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XXIII: Sheep in the Grasp of the Hunter – Adam

His words to me were not reassuring in the least, if anything it only made me weep harder. I felt that even though I was not dead I might as well be standing at its door. How cruel a fate for me.  
"Imagine the surprise I had when I noticed that you were not breathing anymore!" Cassius said all too happily as he continued to rub my head as if I were a dog. "After CPR and getting you down to a room I'm awfully tired from having to take care of you."  
I brushed his hand aside as harshly as I could manage and gave him a scowl through the stemming flow of my tears. I pushed aside the pain that flared up in my arm and thought about the predicament I was in. My pants were awash in blood and the metallic smell lingered in my nostrils. My body seemed fine other than the pain in my arm and the throbbing of my side which brought into thought the source of the blood.  
Cassius continued to stare at me with that grin of his that unnerved me. I felt like nothing more than something for him to give amusement to. I weighed my options as carefully as I could. Killing him would require me to reach for my gun with his eyes on me. There was no way I could incapacitate him and make my escape without putting myself at my own risk. What could I do?  
"Thinking of ways to escape from me I see." Cassius said with that same grin and amusement in his voice. God forbid he could actually read minds.  
"Yes, know of any that do not involve killing you?" I said with a glare, my words as cold as ice.  
His expression changed and now looked at me with a blank stare. To my surprise he began to laugh, slow at first but it became that same deep boom that unsettled me.  
"Funny, huh?" I asked him as I reached for the SIG 226 strapped to my waist and brought it out as I pointed to his skull. He stopped his laughter quickly and gave me that blasted smirk. I did not care anymore at my repercussions and pulled the trigger of my gun in expectancy of a satisfying blast. Nothing. His laugh this time was on an epic scale, his eyes began to water and his voice echoed into my soul.  
"You honestly believe that I would leave you with a loaded weapon?" He asked me between laughs as he mocked my action with an imaginary gun.  
I said nothing to him. I was at a loss for words. My gun went back into its holster and my face had lost its facade of strength.  
"Thing is..." he began as a handgun appeared out of seemingly nowhere as he pointed it at my head. "This gun is loaded and would have no problem ending your life."  
"I don't think that you would." I told him as he stood up, his gun still pointed at me.  
"Oh, why not?" Cassius asked playfully to me.  
"Because that would mean a lot of effort on your part to just end quickly. I think that you want to enjoy this power much longer than I would at first believe."  
"I take it that you believe that you do no fear death?"  
"No, that's not true at all." I answered him as I painfully made my way up from the floor, grimacing at the pain in my side. I noticed vaguely that my backpack was still on my shoulders. "I fear death every damn day."  
I could not tell if my words unsettled or humored him as that blank expression returned again. He never made it clear either to me as he grabbed my chin lightly with his rough hands and stared at my own eyes.  
"You're an odd one, Adam." He told me softly with a lingering breath.  
"Is that a compliment?"  
"More of an insult, really." He told me just as softly. His hand had not left my chin which in its own began to bother me.  
"What are you getting at? What is your purpose for all of this? All of this death, destruction and loss?" I asked angrily.  
"Simply because I can." He answered softly yet again, wrapping his hand around my hip and bringing me closer to him. I began to struggle and attempt to escape his hold but he was a lot stronger than he appeared. His hold on my side was like a vise and instead of a light hold of my chin it was a fierce grab.  
"Let me go..." I muttered, feeling weaker and weaker the more I struggled.  
"Why do you pretend with them?" He asked me in that same voice which contradicted his hold.  
"What do you mean?"  
"Your friends, Adam. Don't be a fool."  
"I'm not pretending in the least." this angered him. His eyes glowed and his lips curled into a sneer and yet his tone did not change to me.  
"Oh yes you are. I see how you treat them. I see how you distance yourself. I see how you lead them to believe that you care."  
"That is a lie you bastard, I treat them in a way they have always known. Sure I may seem cold and uncaring but it is all to cover up the cowardice and fear of my own."  
"Really now?" He asked me. My response seemed to hover in the air around him. I could not read his actions at all as his face relaxed and his eyes were cold wells. Looking at him straight in the eye made my mind run away and my body heavy. This was indeed a terrifying man.  
"Adam, what do you want more than anything?" He asked me as his hold on me loosened enough for me to break free and shake off his touch.  
"You have no reason at all for wondering that." I told him as I made my way to the door out of the room.  
"Planning on getting back to your friends?" Cassius asked me with a hint of amusement. I did not answer him. "It seems that at the station there is a lot of activity from every one there Mr. Hero of the survivors. It is only as far as the tower was from the station. We are at City hall you know."  
I said nothing in response to that either and shut the door behind me with a sigh. He would have to be careful next time I see him. I would have a loaded gun with a bullet in his name.  
The others could not know of what happened between us in that room. This man would be my own personal demon; they should not have to suffer again because of his affiliation with me.


	25. Choas in Solitude

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XXIV: Chaos in Solitude – Adam

They came into the room with as much force as an explosion. The sound of the gunfire was a refreshing cacophony to Robert from what he told me. Even in his apparent shock, fatigue, and desperation he still managed to smirk at the group who had rushed in to save him with weapons ablaze and determination in their eyes. The thing was that all of this imagery and action that had played out brought to much a toll on him and he passed out.  
From what I was told, as soon as Latvia had made her way back to the defense at the station the tirade had ceased because of my action of stopping the bell. What played out though upon the stemmed flow of the Infected was nothing short of a catastrophe. People were torn upon desire and fear and soon argument ensued with as much brevity as the trap laid out by Cassius. Those wounded were still crying out in pain and misery, hoping for an end to their suffering or their life. Those still capable of normal function were arguing amongst each other with both threats and misunderstanding of how to escape the city alive. Latvia witnessed this with very little comment or interruption.  
I was told that she decided to size up the room at first and make some kind of decision on how to establish our plan. In the end I was glad she did this, I'm sure the others would not have the foresight to keep certain things to themselves. There were not that many left from the massive group that initially took refuge at the station. From an estimated thirty people in the beginning there were probably around twelve others excluding ourselves that were alive in some way. She would hate to have to count those that did not make it.  
She had Robert in her lap in as clean as a place she could find amongst the bloodshed. She was not aware of where Russ had made of to with that man that she had a brief introduction with, Theo. The odd thing was that upon getting  
inside the building first, thing she did was try and locate Robert and Lucy. Lucy was unharmed if not deeply disturbed but Robert was on the floor unconscious. It seemed that his rescuers had done nothing to help him and Latvia took it upon herself to do so.  
"Is he going to be okay...?" Lucy asked Latvia hesitantly as she looked at Robert's debilitated condition with dismay.  
"I'm not...yes, he is Lucy." Latvia said with a forced smile of reassurance. She personally saw that if anything Robert's condition was getting worse as time progressed. He was bleeding again and his mental state of unconsciousness and probable anxiety left her with an expression of pity. She was awaiting my arrival back so that I could look at him and give some kind of medical assistance. No one seemed to care about anyone other than themselves in the tempest of desires that all the survivors were debating.  
I surprised both Lucy and Latvia when I tapped my confidante softly awaking them both from their stupor. My focus immediately shifted from the two females and the still continuing arguments to Robert and his slowly deteriorating condition. I wasted no time as I took off my backpack and began the now ritualistic search for my medical supplies.  
"Always getting in trouble I see..." I muttered under my breath as I proceeded to casually strip him of his clothes to examine his injuries.  
The two watched me in silence as I did my work. I made no inquiry about the rest of our group or the discussions that were rampant since the salvation I had brought to all of us. It was Latvia who finally broke my almost purposeful silence.  
"I knew that you would get it to stop, Adam." she said softly to me. I made an indistinguishable grunt in response. She did not take this in offense fortunately for me.  
"There must be something wrong though with you, Adam. It almost seems that you have taken on a totally different persona."  
"Nonsense." I told her sharply as I began to clean the wounds yet again. Seeing them still oozing and inflamed made me feel at odds. I'm not sure why. "I'm just speculating over why he chooses to push himself so hard and be a hero. He is as ordinary as anyone one of us here and yet even now I'm wondering whether I can do this for him one more time. His injuries are extensive. His blood loss is abundant. His psyche is troubled. What am I to do in the end when I have to let him know that I cannot help him anymore? That we will have to put all his bravery and courageous acts aside and leave him to die?"  
She was at a loss for words.  
"I mean to say is that even knowing that we are here he still wants to put himself in a position that he wants no consideration on his part. Hell, I know about this Roselina he talks about in his nightmares and he still won't discuss with anyone. I know a lot more than presumed."  
Her face seemed to remain downcast as she looked at Lucy's slumbering form on her lap; as if Lucy could give her the right response.  
"We have no idea how we are going to escape. We have very little plan if any at all. We have a madman that seems to take pleasure in our suffering. We have an unexplained Infection that is claiming lives and making hell. WHAT ARE WE TO DO?" I realized that at the end of my rant I had an outburst both loud and crazed. I was glad that my angle did not allow her to see my angry tears that had begun to stream down my face.  
I looked Robert over once more and nodded upon my satisfaction. I bandaged him up with a sigh and packed my supplies. I looked at my hands absently for a moment and  
stood up with a pained grunt.  
"I'm going to look for some more medical supplies and other materials to stock up on. If you would, stay here with the two and keep an eye on them."  
I did not wait for a confirmation from her and headed off to investigate the station for various necessities. I had a feeling that I should stay there and just lay my soul out for her to read but dismissed it with ease reassuring step I took. It never crossed my mind till later that there were still injured that needed to be taken care of and once I realized this I shrugged the responsibility as easily as a loose fitting pair of pants. I needed to think about things and sort them out. I needed to keep my own chaos in solitude.


	26. Trust, Madness and Deliberation

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XXV: Trust, Madness, and Deliberation – Adam

I was fortunate. The station had its own area for first aid both for critical emergencies and minor problems that a band-aid could fix. There was very little left from what I managed to salvage amongst the disheveled supplies. In the back of my mind I wondered if my monopoly of such supplies would cause a problem with the other survivors. In the front however, it was just a concern for myself and the health of my group.  
"Seems about right..." I muttered to myself as I looked it over once more before I zipped my backpack closed. This solitude, though wanted at first, left my spirits far more depressed than I intended. Silence only left room for speculation and wondering thoughts, things if I mulled over I would become paralyzed with my own fear and indecision.  
I looked up at the flickering light above me in the cramped room. Each flicker brought into mind things like Cassius. Things like Latvia. Things like death. Things like Failure.  
_ Things like desire. Desire to escape at all costs_  
I shifted my focus and blinked my eyes. I brought my hand to my SIG 226 and pointed it at the light with a resolute air. I'm sure others in the building heard it and panicked. I'm sure others did not care at all about the noise. I shot the light.  
"Sometimes it is better to remain in darkness...least others be able to see the real you._"  
Am I scared?_  
"No I can't be. For the sake of everyone else I can't be"  
_ I'm terrified._  
"I have to strive along with the others to survive."  
_I want to ensure my life. The others cannot think the same way I do_  
"Stop it..."_  
As soon as I get the chance I wi--_  
"I said STOP IT!"  
Maybe I felt safer on the ground just holding myself than to stand up and leave the darkness of the room. I knew one thing though. I was scared to actually listen to myself

"Adam, did you find what you were looking for?" Latvia asked with concern as she gazed at my disordered appearance. Her comment brought the groups attention to me. Such familiar faces, all with their own story.  
"In a manner of speaking..." I replied to her flatly. I never finished that sentence nor was I ushered into elaborating. Thank God.  
"We cannot trust the other groups with what we are planning." Latvia said, her voice changing from frightened woman to one with a mission. Her words commanded everyone's attention and received an unspoken agreement with each one of us.  
"Let's talk about what we know..." I spoke up to the group.  
"Right." Robert agreed weakly. "We know that rescue is dependent on whether or not we can find some way to leave this city by talking to someone to pick us up or we find a vehicle to escape in ourselves."  
"Yeah. We also know that there seems to be more than just common Infected. Like when we heard that roar or when Robert had encounters with that odd jumping one." Russ put in. "Also, when I was with the military something puked on some soldiers. It didn't seem ordinary..."  
"There seems to be someone who wishes us harm." Theo mentioned briefly, his eyes shifting from each of us now and then as if we would make some kind of interesting action.  
"...Agreed" I replied sullenly.  
Latvia nodded. "Even though we have weapons here and ammunition we can only carry so much with us at a time. I would like Adam's backpack to take precedence with first aid instead of firepower. I suggest you manage your equipment properly everyone."  
For some reason I found it odd the six of us just huddled in a secluded corner trying our best to not to socialize or interfere with the other survivors. To each their own I suppose. Silence amongst us again.  
Robert did it again, saying what all we could not articulate. "What are we going to do?"


	27. Bite The Bullet

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XXVI: Bite the Bullet – Adam

Cassius smiled to himself wistfully as he watched Adam leave the room with a look of defeat. He wanted to laugh again at the threat Adam launched before he left but that would be pointless on his own ears alone. He stretched his arms and yawned long and loud. He wanted to make his way back up to the tower, not because he wanted to ring a bell again. For other reasons.  
The journey back up was longer than he expected. Hoping to access it from the roof again he was disappointed to see that the structure he used as a step down had collapsed, probably because of the additional weight that Adam had added. With a dismissive shrug he decided to go it the old fashioned way.  
He clicked his tongue at the mess a grenade had made of the stairway up to the top. Looking carefully, he climbed the rubble with dexterity and leaped up to catch the end of the stairway. Proceeding to climb the debris he made his way in the circle upwards and climbed the hatch. Almost immediately once he looked at the now motionless bell he felt the urge to chuckle and did such, even as he looked at the still breathing body that laid in their own pool of blood.  
He seemed to still be conscious the way his eyes followed Cassius' movements in the circle he was walking around in. Cassius decided to just stop moving around the man and humor him by stopping and staring into his eyes whilst a grin played on his face.  
"Still breathing?" Cassius asked with mock amazement and concern as the man gave him a withering look from his motionless body. The man was pale from the loss of blood and prone because of his injury. "A shame really in your case, I was hoping that it would have killed you instantly." He thought on those words for a moment in his head before he told the dying man his thoughts. "Ya know, maybe I just wanted to know that you would suffer."  
"You...bastard." the man said in choked breaths. Blood if not already coagulated came oozing out of his mouth. Cassius chuckled again.  
"I appreciate the way you help me with that plan of mine, don't get me wrong I had no intention of killing you...initially. I couldn't have you harming Adam though."  
It seemed that the man wanted to say something in response but the blood in his throat muffled his words. That did not bother Cassius at all. He leaned closer, making sure that the knife was firmly in his grip as he roughly grabbed the man's head.  
"I'm not too sorry about having to do this to you, Kai." he whispered in his ear as he deftly slit the man's throat. What little blood that was left in his body flowed out in a crimson stream. With a sigh he dropped the now lifeless body and stood up with another stretch and another yawn. The blood on his hands really did not make any difference to him.  
His focus now was to monitor Adam and his group, searching for a moment to take action. A cruel smile replaced his smirk. This would indeed be fun.


	28. Bloody, Dagger!

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XXVII: This one's Bloody, and this one's Dagger – Adam

We all were at a loss for words once Robert had said what we all were avoiding. Though I could remember our initial plan to find some kind of telecommunication, we all seemed to balk at the idea of searching for one. Soon I myself decided that making sure that everyone had something to eat took precedence over leaving in safety. I scrounged around in my bag for the meager rations I had accumulated.  
The only things I managed to provide for us immediately were a few energy bars and one bottle of water. Russ soon headed off with a gun in hand to return with more water and some food that looked as if it came from a vending machine. Soon we were trying our best to eat the food that we had procured with little negative emotion.  
After a while I noticed that most of the people who survived the bell incident had left in some form or fashion that left our group alone. For some reason that unsettled me. To each their own I suppose.  
It was Theo who suggested we find a less open area to stay idle in. When he looked at the watch strapped to his wrist, he informed us that daylight was not too far off. It was a consensus to find some room or area secure enough for some of us to get some rest. With Latvia's assistance we helped keep Robert steady when we all found our haven for the day.  
Some fell asleep with ease like Theo and Lucy. It took Robert and Latvia awhile to close their eyes and dream in a fitful slumber. Russ and I just could not at the moment as we sat with our guns poised at the door. I could feel how tired I was but for some reason rest evaded my body.  
"You should try to get some sleep." I told Russ lightly and without any tone. His eyes shifted to me for a moment as if to register me, then he focused yet again on the door out of the break room we had taken refuge in.  
"Nah," he replied with thin but noticeable good humor in his voice, "After all that I might not be able to sleep just yet."  
I was not going to force him to sleep if he did not choose to. I did have to point out something though. "Russ about your pants..."  
"I know, I know Adam." he replied with a nervous chuckle at his now soiled pants. If this were not an apocalyptic situation I most likely would have made fun of his situation. Funny how chaos such as this cuts down on your desire to be an ass.  
"Russ, what I was going to say was that I have some shorts in her." I told him with a sigh as I unstrapped my backpack and began a search soon halted.  
"Oh no, Adam, stop looking. I know how short your clothes can be! I would rather walk in my piss." his voice came with embarrassment. I could not help but feel my face flush as I stopped my search.  
"I guess it would not be logical with Infected roaming around for flesh, huh?" I joked to him hoping it would disguise my own embarrassment.  
I got up from my position on the floor as softly as I could. Even if the bright light in this room could wake one of them up I would not take chances with my own movements. I began to peruse the room, looking in cabinets and containers that were in the room.  
"I'm not sure why there happens to be a police uniform in here..." I whispered to him in confusion as I tossed it to him suddenly. "At least there is a gun holster, a flashlight, and a tazer on that thing. Odd thing to just leave around...it's going to be even odder seeing you all mismatched like that."  
"Adam, thank you and all but no more comments." He whispered back to me as he gently put his M16 down and pulled of his pants and underwear in front of me, unabashed. I of course did not look away but kept my jokes to myself like he asked. He slipped on the bottoms and tightened them around his waist.  
"God you don't match."  
"Adam, what did I say?"  
"I thought you meant the whole you getting naked in front of me..."  
"Now is not the time anyway to worry about matching."  
"Hai hai, sensei" I finally replied playfully to him.  
He looked at my own pants and gave me an odd look. "Have you thought about changing yours?" I was perplexed by that statement and noticed to the umpteenth time again that my pants were stained immensely by blood. Most likely there would be a large amount dried to my legs.  
"Meh, it's no big deal really." I answered with another sigh. It was odd how the blood that we were looking at made our eyes drift to Robert. He was sleeping, but each breath he made sounded painful to us.  
"Dammit, Chino..." Russ muttered to himself as his face took that of an anger hidden by a look of pity.  
"I'm not sure how much more he can take. If he is not careful I won't be able to keep him functional anymore..."  
"Is it that bad?"  
"Yeah...it might come to the point where his body may shut down from his entire trauma. If you don't keep an eye on him enough to allow him to recover than who knows his fate."

"I know that if it comes down to it I will leave him behind without any guilt."  
My words were rather harsh I suppose but I did not expect Russ to grab me by the collar of my hoody and slam me up against the wall. I'm surprised that no one woke to that.  
"I will NOT you hear me, NOT allow Chino to be left behind so coldly like that!"  
"Russ, let me go..."  
"I will not have you dismiss any of our lives here, as long as they are living and breathing they are going to escape with the rest of us!"  
"Russ, I said let me go."  
"I know that you can be an asshole, Adam, I'm used to that. But I will not get used to you putting yourself as priority among any of us here. We are all going to work together."  
I looked him in the eyes. Yeah, I made him quite angry with what I said but that made no difference to me. I only returned his glare and brought intensity to my voice. "Are you finished, Russ?"  
He let me go and I dropped to the floor. The pressure of my backpack as I was held up there made my back ache. I stood up slowly and painfully yet again for the day and made sure that I had his attention.  
"Russ, I'm not saying that no one here means anything to me. I will do my best, you have my word, but I'm only human and can do so much. If anything I wanted to let you know that once all my options are gone I can do nothing more."  
He crossed his arms and gave me a look that made me feel uncomfortable. His tone seemed sarcastic now. "Why does that not sound reassuring?"  
"Only because you believe it not to be." I replied honestly. He seemed to stare me down for a few moments and then his body language shifted and a weak grin played out on his face.  
"I hate you!" he said in a squeaky voice that made me laugh lightly.  
"My mom says beauty is on the inside." I replied as I sat back down and waited dawn.  
The first seed had been sown. Now that I brought that up I now know that he will ensure as much as possible our safety. If anything this might compel him further than he was before. As I closed my eyes I wondered how I would plant seeds in the others.


	29. Opening One's Heart

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XXVIII: Opening One's Heart – Adam

I awoke suddenly as always. It wasn't because of the others or what had transpired in this city, it was because I felt so vulnerable asleep. It seemed that everyone else were already up and about, checking their weapons and looking around the room for anything that would be useful.

No one seemed to be surprised that I was the last one to open my eyes for the new day. Latvia was looking over Robert with the tenderness of a mother, gently checking his bandages and cleaning off any excess fluids that had leaked. The attention she was giving him from the looks of it made Robert want to blush with satisfaction; Robert did not have much blood to blush with however.

I noticed that Lucy was by herself, clutching an open pendant in her hands as if it was a treasure that would rival kings. From my distance it looked as if it was made of fine gold that even in such artificial light gleamed as if it were in the sun. Curiosity got the better of me and so I decided to make my way to her. My presence once my body made contact with the floor held little concern to her, her attention focused on the pendant in such a way I wondered if it held the secrets of the universe.

"Hey, Lucy, what have you there?" I asked her as chipper as I could manage, leaning conspicuously over her tiny shoulders to catch a better glimpse of it. At first she did not respond to my words, lost in her own little world. I felt uncomfortable suddenly and began to shift my weight back and forth beside her. When she finally spoke to me it seemed unearthly and distant.

"My mommy gave this to me a long time ago." She told me as she turned to look me straight in the eyes. She brandished her pendant to me as if it was an offering to the gods and awaited my nervous hands. It was a hefty pendant that was indeed made of solid gold, something I'm sure must have cost quite a bit. Even the fine chain necklace was woven from the same precious gold and held an allure all its own with its gentle touch and fine craftsmanship. The pendant was shaped in the form of a heart probably around an inch and a half in length and an inch in width.

I noticed that the heart had a clasp on its side that looked almost out of place. With a gentle touch of my own I unlatched the clasp and opened up the heart to my surprise. Lucy from the corner of my eye just watched my face light up from the discovery of a locket. The writing inside was etched in and then from my understanding lacquered to provide depth and clarity to what was written. I read the contents carefully to myself:

_Lucy Liliana Locaste_

_Born May 18__th__, 2001_

_Forever To Be Loved_

"My mommy said that with this I would always remember who I am." Lucy told me in a small voice. I braced myself for a tearful cry to escape her throat but none came at all. The only reaction that came with her was her holding her hair up and exposing her neck to me. I could not think of anything reassuring, I could not think of anything warming, I could not think of anything at all that would give some semblance of happiness and euphoria that would give this girl the strength she would need. The only thing I could do was to bring about the chain around her neck and clasp it shut. This pendant would haunt me in due time.

A rap on the safe room door brought my attention immediately to it in shock. I was the only who seemed the least bit startled from the sudden noise. Latvia made her way to the door and held her assault rifle to her chest.

"Who is it?"

"Russ and Theo, open up Latvia." Came Russ' familiar voice through the wooden frame. I only vaguely had noticed that the two were not present in the room upon my wake. With swiftness unlike all other Latvia removed the makeshift barricade of a table and chairs and unlocked the door for the entrance of the two.

"Any news?" Robert asked with a voice that was once again his usual self. I was amazed at the extent of his recovery the way his limp was almost non-existent and his movement natural. I guess I just don't give him enough credit where credit is due.

"My watch says 9:30 so its morning, thing is the sky is overcast. There might be a storm coming or hopefully just a very cloudy day." Theo told Robert and Latvia, only casually glancing in my direction.

For some reason I felt bothered and made my own way to the other adults. Lucy followed behind only to get to Robert and clutched his hand. I sighed and looked at everyone trying to gauge the situation.

"There are already more damn zombies wandering around the station outside, just how many people live in this city?" Russ said angrily

"Way too many, trust me on that." Latvia responded absently to his obviously rhetorical question.

"Did you happen to look for some kind of radio or broadcasting equipment…?" I asked tentatively.

Russ shook his head at me in defeat. "We didn't see any equipment like that in our search."

Almost in sync everyone's mood sunk to the deepest place within the earth. Russ noticed our melancholy expressions and almost immediately did his best to provide some sort of humor into the situation.

"Cheer up guys, I just could not let you all down! We found this notice that might make up for the lack of a radio. And no, Adam, I did not break the radio and decide to lie about not finding one."

"Duly noted, Russ." I told him calmly as I took the notice from his hands and brought it into the center of our group. It was a very long list of extraction points. It seemed that someone had taken the time to cross out extraction points. Even though the list had numerous locations written on its surface a majority of them were crossed out.

There was no need to ask me to bring out the map because it suddenly appeared in my hand with a mind of its own. Latvia knew what she was going to do as she spread out the city map and began to plot points. I could not watch her do this for some reason and busied myself with the contents of my backpack. Everyone's chatter became a dull haze when it would reach my ear.

Shifting aside my medical kit with the sutures and bandages and looking past the now dwindled stock of ammunition there was a lump at the bottom of my bag. Intrigued I reached my hand in further and grasped the chilled item and brought it to my eyes with an exclamation.

"A-a-a GRENADE!" I held it up for everyone to see as my eyes continued to stay wide and alert in my shock at finding such an item. "When the hell did I pick up a GRENADE?!"

Everyone stared at me with their own mixture of confusion and shock. Russ was the one to break that up.

"Yoink!" he said comically as he plucked the item out of my hand casually. He looked at it a moment with a delight all his own and pocketed it. I was too stunned initially to make a comment.

"Should we really trust you with an actual grenade?" Robert asked with an arched eyebrow

"NO!" I exclaimed again with a voice more than adamant.

"Ahh, relax. I'll be careful." Russ replied with a dismissal wave of his hand.

"What if it goes off in your pocket?" Asked Theo with his own incredulous look.

"Only if the pin gets pulled guys, besides if Adam managed to carry it around in that backpack without it going off I'll be fine. And to make you all feel better I'm going to put it on this handy police utility belt." He did such and brandished it with gusto. "The next Batman…?" he asked us with a laugh that made me groan. We all decided to drop it and just trust him with it, as much as it pained me in particular.

Don't ask me how I managed to space out in my backpack again after that scare with the grenade but I managed to do just that. So much that everyone reached an agreement about where to head off to.

"So it's decided then, we are going to head to Hillman University." Latvia affirmed to everyone. I perked up at this agreement.

"I only hope that we can be saved…" I muttered

"Don't we all?" Robert replied.


	30. Through The Rain

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XXIX: Through The Rain, Through The Shadows – Adam

"Latvia! C'mon, keep up!" I yelled to her through the roar of the storm and the torrent of its flow. Rain encompassed every part of our being. Rain tore at our clothes. Rain attempted to drown us while we made our way to the university. Rain made us lose our way.  
I could barely hear her over the rain and the thunder even while she was standing right beside me. Through the faint light from my gun I could see her soaked self clutching an assault rifle awkwardly in one hand and using the other to shield her eyes for a better view.  
"Where are the others?" she said to me, almost entirely muted by a stroke of thunder that lit up the sky.  
I was confused about what she said and gave her a look that expressed my concern over her question. I looked around in an attempt to scout out the rest of the group but succeeded in only gesticulating madly with my flashlight and free hand like a fool. I received no signal from Russ and that made me frightened.  
"That is an excellent question, Latvia...!" I replied to her. My light was not bright enough to just beam around for a moving group of people and knowing my luck the group I would find would turn out to be Infected. There was one thing that we both agreed without words. We had to get out of the rain.  
I was attuned to her sudden scream of terror as if it came from my own throat. I whipped around to see her struggling against an Infected that had rushed her. It had knocked her down to the wet pavement and was trying It's best to win the struggle between the two.  
I had to think quickly. Shooting the Infected off of her could result in an incident of friendly fire and so I opted for the next best option. I brought back my foot and swung it for a swift kick to the head. My attack was not strong enough to send the Infected far but it was enough to get It off of her. The Infected gave an inhuman grunt of pain from the blow as it collapsed to the asphalt in a heap. I wasted no time and shot the Infected in the head once for death and then another for good measure.  
I bent down and grabbed Latvia's outstretched hand, bracing myself to keep proper footing on the rain drenched streets.  
"You okay?" I yelled through the rain.  
"Yeah, just a bit shaky. Thanks, Adam." she replied to me as she picked up her dropped assault rifle and stood almost shoulder to shoulder with me. It took me a moment to realize why she did such. Once I registered the fast approaching figures in my meager light I brought my SIG 226 up and ready to aim.  
We backed up steadily as we shot at the rush of Infected that came our way. I'm not sure what led all of them to our position in the rain but we made short work of them much to our relief.  
"I can't see anything that would be fortunate about this at all!" I yelled.  
"Because there isn't one." she replied to me. "Look around for signals or anyplace we can go."  
I did not need her to verbalize that to me but it made no difference in what I was doing already. If anything I found one way too quickly.  
"Look up there, Lat! Someone is giving a signal!" I yelled to her pointing upwards not too far from our positions. In a window there was a constant blinking of a light.  
"Better make it there then, it is our only option at the moment." She called to me as we ran as fast as we could to the building.

"This place looks blocked also..." Latvia said to me in a slight murmur. She shifted her weight nervously and looked at me with concern. I shrugged my shoulders with dismay and looked around again for another route. Though we had not met many roadblocks per say it still seemed that this office supply building was much larger than it appeared.  
"If anything we have to get to that one room." I told her with a sigh that matched my shrug. If we weren't so weighed down from the way that the rain soaked our clothing we might have made more progress. Lucky for me my backpack was waterproof so it wouldn't become heftier than normal.  
We changed our path yet again to look for the stairs upwards. Since the storm blacked out the area the elevator would not work. We had very little argument though considering it was amazing that electricity managed to still flow in a majority of the city.  
"I wonder how the others are faring in this weather" Latvia mentioned to me as strapped the rifle to her back and begun to wring out her hair with a defeated look.  
I stopped and turned around to her digging in my cargo pants this time instead of my backpack. I pulled out a handgun and handed it to her.  
"Thanks, but what's the occasion?" she asked me with an arched eyebrow  
"More or less, firepower is awesome."  
"Okay..." she did not seem too thrilled by my response but held the gun in her hand with reassurance.  
I noticed while I was sweeping the room the stairwell up and mentally jumped with excitement. Soon we would be able to see who was in the room giving us the signal. I hoped that the others knew where they were going or see ked refuge from the rain. We had the map, the medical supplies, and the wits.


	31. Simple Point and Click

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XXX: Simple Point-and-Click Interface (Initialization Alpha) – Adam

"Respond or I will shoot!" came a flustered voice from behind the door. The supposedly male voice from what I gathered almost made me chuckle. Latvia opened her mouth to say something but stifled her words as a snicker escaped. I rolled my eyes with a grin on my face and responded as strongly as I could.  
"We saw your signal from outside, could you let us in?"  
There was a silence beyond the door that changed our faces readily enough. Latvia gave me a peculiar look that I only returned with one of my own. We were almost too preoccupied to notice the faint click of a lock opening or the slight creek of the door slowly opening.  
We wasted no time in entering the shadowed room, quickly shutting and locking the door behind us. I was hoping for at least a flash of lightning to illuminate the room but as always opted for the usual sweep of my flashlight. The room was abundant in reams of paper and boxes containing a variety of things like manila envelopes and various writing instruments. My flashlight shined to the few bodies that were sprawled in a corner, piled up precariously. From what I gathered from my distance they were covered in bite and slash marks instead of bullet wounds. Probably bled to death these bodies.  
There were only two individuals alive standing up and looking at us with a mixture of distrust and paranoia as their guns even know were still focused on us. The one holding a shotgun had a sneer plastered on his face. Weeks' worth of stubble lingered on his grime covered face that matched his deplored and disgusting attire. The other one was a rather lanky fellow with a bowl haircut and glasses that screamed he got beat up in high school. The fellow with the glasses was obviously the one who had made the announcement at the door.  
"Oh, it's only two of you...?" The nerdy fellow said with a disgruntled sigh that we both completely dismissed. We weren't too concerned about his disappointment.  
"Were you expecting an army?" Latvia asked coolly, giving both of the men a withering look. I suppose she was trying to assume dominance.  
"Yeah you cunt. Be any more of a bitch and you won't like it." The haggard looking man said to hear with a voice that sounded oddly like a growl from a beast. I arched an eyebrow at his comment and put my hands in my hoody pocket.  
The nerdy fellow became rather animated with his nervousness, stumbling over his words and doing his best to calm his associate. "Lukas, c'mon now. No need to make enemies at this point."  
The man named Lukas gave the meek individual a look that was more than withering. I noticed that the man with the glasses cringed with a fright that only made the man seem more like a pushover. He glanced with fear at the man once more before darting his eyes to the two of us. He readjusted his glasses and prepared himself to speak. Only thing was that his words were drowned out by Lukas'.  
"Get out Arab. There's no point in you being here."  
It was funny how that comment made me command everyone's attention. I wonder how I would have reacted if I were not already used to this kind of misinterpretation.  
"You have got to be kidding me..." I groaned as I shifted me weight around.  
"C'mon Lukas, be reasonabl--" The nervous fellow said as he slowly made his way over to Lukas. He was unfortunately cut off by the butt of Lukas' shotgun straight to his face. The blow knocked his glasses off and sent him crashing into the wall. Lukas took that opportunity of confusion to grab Latvia roughly by the neck, breaking the strap to her assault rifle and putting her in a position that caused her to struggle. Her hands were on his massive forearm doing their best to pry his hold off of her.  
"Let her go!" I told him strongly as I could manage, my hands still in my hoody pocket. "If you do, I promise no harm will come to you."  
"Shut the fuck up!" He yelled back to me with wild abandon, his grip tightening on her as her face began to change color. Her action would have been commendable if it had worked. She brought out the handgun I had given her and began to aim it at his head. Thing was that Lukas dropped the shotgun upon noticing her intentions and grabbed her wrist. Her hold faltered on her gun and he took it readily enough from her.  
"I will say it once more...  
_Keep your voice steady. Don't panic. Don't run away.  
_Let her go."  
He looked at me with an all too familiar grin plastered on his face and with words that knew fate. "Go to hell."  
Latvia tore free enough to scream in anguish as Lukas emptied the clip in a cacophony of stringed bursts as my flashlight went out.  
All the noise that was left was the sound of the rain hitting the windows, the thunder rustling in the distance, and the frantic protests and cries coming from Latvia. These were things no one should have to suffer from.  
A bolt of lightning surged forth and bringing light into the room and allowing Latvia to see what was going to happen.  
"I warned you." I whispered to him and a bullet entered his skull and exited with a sound that was almost music to my ears. His body collapsed off of Latvia as she readily got up, quickly covering her breasts with fluidity and standing behind me.  
"Shoot him again..." she whispered.  
I did such, unloading my gun again into his skull, increasing the bloody mass that was once his head.  
"Shoot him again..." she whispered again.  
I obliged.  
"Shoot him again."  
I obliged.  
"Shoot him again!"  
I obliged.  
_Shoot him again  
_ I emptied my gun into the now unrecognizable corpse, still pulling the trigger even as I heard the empty click over and over again.  
"Bastard deserved every bullet..." Latvia muttered as she kicked his believed torso, getting more blood on her shoes. She looked at me through the dim glow of far away bolts of lightning in the distance, her face streaked with tears yet her eyes cold and stoic.  
"I was not sure what happened to you, what happened to your light."  
"A better question would be how I managed to have my flash light shine on him without even holding it." I replied to her as I grabbed her hand softly and led her to where I had stood previously. I reached into the darkness and pulled out my trusty SIG 226. "I balanced the gun between reams of paper, I'm actually surprised that no one noticed how odd it was my flashlight was shining and yet my hands were in my pocket."  
She had nothing to say to me. Mere words could not express her gratitude and I knew it. I shined my flashlight over to the pansy in the corner and made my way to him, gazing at his purple bruise enveloping his face. I wasted no time and smacked his already damaged face, causing him to awake with a gasp of pain and a wide-eyed look.  
"Oi," I began as I shined my light into his eyes, "What was your name again, I didn't quite catch it earlier."


	32. Монстр Это ждет Адам

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XXXI: Монстр Это ждет Адам – Adam

Проклятье" Cassius muttered to himself through the torrent of rain that surrounded him. Adam and Latvia made to much of a headway for him to stay ahead of their movements. He was glad that they were yet again isolated from Adam's friends and relished the idea of having only two to contend with. He carefully shut the door behind him and attempted to shake off the hold of his soaked clothing. He hoped that the two had not gone to far that it would be difficult again to catch up. If the two had not been assaulted before they got here he probably would have no idea where anyone of them had went off to.

He advanced to their supposed area quickly enough with the occasional light from his small flashlight. From what he heard behind this particular door in fron of him he had found them.

"Go to hell." came a voice that he was unfamiliar with as bullets began to fly. Cassius did not move from his position even as he heard the ammunition buzz by his ears. There was an odd silence and then a single gunshot punctuated the empty air. It was followed again in that manner for a few times before the eventual unloading of the clip.

Cassius smiled and pulled out a small gadget that he turned on. With a touch to the device connected to his ear he began to hear the conversation Adam and Latvia were having.

"So your name is Hikaru, huh?" Adam asked whomever as a gentle sigh came into Cassius' ear. What a nice little device he had snuck onto Adam. He was actually surprised it still worked in the inclement weather of late.

"Yeah..." came a voice that was anything but masculine, it was hard to determine the gender. Male? In any case there was a sharp intake of breath from them as they questioned Adam. "Is...is Lukas dead...?"

"Oh no," Latvia's bitter voice came in that seemed slighlty more agitated than normal, "Lukas is taking a nice little nap."

There was a pause only heightened by the crash of thunder. Soon Hikaru's innocent voice came again.

"But...his head is blown off..."

Cassius heard Adam sigh and the empty sound of a clip exiting a gun. Shortly afterward came the click of a new clip entering the gun. Apparently Adam had unloaded the clip repeatedly. There was another period of heavy silence then the alarmed sound that was muffled yet frantic in tone.

"I'm going to ask you some questions and if they are not to my liking...well, let's just say this gun in your mouth is not only an intimidation tactic. It's a promise." came Adam's voice through the ear reciever. Cassius thought on this. It certaintly was Adam, there was no doubt about the one giving the threat to the foreign individual. Thing was that Adam's voice was different to Cassius' own ears.

"I think he just wet himself, Adam" Latvia said with detachment of her own.

"I'm aware of that." Adam told Latvia gruffly. He must have shifted whom he was speaking to because his questions began. "Seen anything odd out here?"

"There is totally not zombies running around." came the voice that was almost immediately was followed by a gunshot and a roar of pain that sounded like a pig that had it's foot caught in a trap.

"See what happens when you are a smartass?" Latvia's voice came through the pained sound of Hikaru. Her voice was nothing short of a robot. Factual and to the point. "I don't have the patience at the moment for trivial games so it sucks for your kneecap."

There was a sigh that came into the mic distinctly. "Its a shame you did that Latvia." Adam said with a hint of remorse. "Now even if we do get answers now there would be no point since he is a cripple now." There was a pause again and then frantic muffled sobs and cries became rampant. There was a gentle coaxing coming from Adam to the man as the bleeding man wept for himself. "Don't worry about it man, not like there are zombies around." Adam said sternly as shot came loudly and then silence.

"What was the point in asking questions, Adam?" Latvia asked him, her voice shifting to a more normal tone.

"I'm not sure really, I just wanted to see if he knew anything useful. I got bored with it though." He replied coolly.

Cassius's face turned into a frown. It seemed that Adam and Latvia were becoming mroe than he presumed. Maybe he was the one to try and be careful around them.

"Адам, какие монстры вам два стали." he whispered to himself as he looked around the room and turned the mic off.


	33. Through The Shadows

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XXXII: Through The Shadows, Through The Rain – Adam

"Where the hell are Latvia and Adam?" Russ asked harshly to them all. His face had shaped into pure agitation from the group disbandment that had happened. The others just looked at him with varying looks of pity or disinterest. "Why did I have to listen to that idiot and his ideas? Everything has to be his way."

"Then don't agree next time." Theo said matter-of-factly to Russ. They had taken refuge in what seemed to be a high end bistro shop. Theo took the time to get himself a drink which he casually sipped as he eyed everyone sitting down.

Russ fumed at Theo's comment and opted to take a seat from his angry pacing back and forth. Even though he was sitting down he could not help but feel the need to move and so he shifted in his seat uncomfortably and began to fiddle with his assault rifle all the while muttering to himself about poor choices.

"I wonder if the two will be alright." Robert asked into the air. Russ was unsure as to whether or not answer the man's question but he did so anyway.

"They will, my luck rubs off on people." Russ commented.

Robert seemed horrified by this. "Russ are you saying they will die?"

"What? No!" Russ replied with his own amount of surprise. He was not entirely sure what Robert was implying but dismissed it as he always would.

For a moment the four of them sat in a silence that only made the weather outside much more serious in sound. It would not be too wise to wander the streets in this weather.

"So..." Russ began with a stretch in his soaked clothing, "Anyone know how far the university is from here?"

"No." Theo replied with a monotone coupled with a monosyllabic response. Theo voiced the other three's own take on the matter. Russ groaned with frustration again at the situation Adam had put everyone in. No map. No medical aid. The only thing reassuring was that at least his group right now had the most firepower.

The noise came suddenly enough and made everyone noticeably tense up. A horrid stringing of coughing came from the upstairs venue that made everyone look in that direction.

"Is someone here...?" Robert asked quietly to the group.

"Might as well check it out, everyone." Russ told them as he readied his firearm.


	34. Partners To The End

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XXXIII: Partners to the End - Adam

We had left the office supply building after that incident. Braving the elements and impending Infected that would come our way was nothing compared to the atrocities that we had committed in almost cold blood. It was an unspoken idea that we would never repeat the actions we had done to anyone though that alone made it weigh more heavily on our minds.

It was hard to tell where we were going in the weather. Constantly we would find that we had turned up at the same street over and over again. We were not sure what was holding us back from proceeding onward but it was enough to bring us into a state of discontent. Our map that we had unfolded in the storm hoping to find some direction ended up being grabbed by the wind, harshly flying away from our stunned and outraged faces.

Occasionally through the storm we would perk up at the sound of gunfire only to become listless once we realized that the bullets were far away from us. I find it odd now how we just ended up sitting huddled together at a bus stop, its meager canopy doing little (but much appreciated) safety from the rain.

"Think this might have been a bad idea...?" Latvia finally asked me, shivering from the combination of rain soaked clothing and actions all now in the past.

"I wondered when you would ask that." I replied miserably. I was shivering myself but it was not the rain in my case. I watched as the rain angrily trailed off of the canopy and listened to its flow from the roof to the ground. I'm not sure why I did that.

"To answer your question, it probably was a bad idea to leave that building. If we don't get dry and warm too then we might catch...what was it? Hypothermia?" I told her as I stood up briskly, mentally preparing myself for another foray into the rain. Latvia stood up also, a frown on her face as she looked into the darkness.

"I'm sure that you were wondering where we would go to in this weather also. Am I right?" Latvia asked me tentatively. She must have become nervous because I noticed she was toting her assault rifle awkwardly this time around. She was not expecting an answer so I gave her none. What did respond to her terrified the both of us.

We had heard this noise before. It was loud, brutish, and menacing in nature. This roar carried and lingered like a bad joke around us. I looked at her with my eyes wide open only to see hers mirrored the same. On instinct we both ran for it, disregarding the rain and the fact we had no clue where we were going. Our flashlights were our beacons and we would do the best to ensure our survival. We would not leave each other behind. We were a team.


	35. Congnitive Development

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XXXIV: Cognitive Development – Adam

The rain had stopped. The only problem now with the weather was the cloud coverage that left no light to escape the dark sky. We had managed to find what appeared to be a museum and raced into its hold. We had done all we could to block the doors we had entered in with various furniture and hefty artwork we could find. Initially we were all too unsure what the museum held but soon found that it was composed mostly of an exhibit on Viking history and artifacts. None of this really held our interest so much as a way to keep the Infected at bay.  
"We are getting close to the university..." Latvia said to me, trailing off as she perused the routes that would lead us there. Fortune smiled upon us with the convenience of the visitors booth located in the main (if not almost utterly destroyed) lobby. There were bodies littering the floor in various states or disarray, blood in pools and scattered amongst the few exhibits in the main lobby. What caught our interest was how a Viking warship managed to be pushed in front of a rather large hole in the wall. Whatever the reason was it allowed water from the storm to pool alongside the blood and bodies and an eerie draft to breeze in and make us shiver in spite of ourselves.  
I wanted to make a joke about how even Infected could not bear to go to a museum but considered how ill humored that would be. Instead I took point near her and made sure that I kept any Infected if they did manage to pop up away from her.  
"If we make it to the university and the others are not there...are we going to go on without them?" Latvia asked me as she took her pen in hand and made sure to put our travel route in bold enough script.  
I was taken aback by her question and pivoted on my feet to look at her with a shocked face. I opened my mouth to say something but quickly closed it. Latvia was not looking at me; her focus was on the map. The thought of abandoning my friends if I alone had a way to escape the city had not crossed my mind at this point. I was absorbed in my thoughts on moral and ethical decisions to act swiftly enough to what happened next. Maybe if I looked more closely I would have seen her grab her neck uncomfortably Regardless it happened and she fell to the floor in a heap.  
"Latvia...!?" I exclaimed as I ran over to her, bending down and examining her for some reason for a sudden collapse. Her neck caught my eyes and then the dart soon followed. It seemed lethal just by the look of the cold steel appearance. Before I could manage to bring my handguns at attention a sudden kick to my shoulders made me launch to the floor. Again I tried to ready myself but a foot reached my throat first. I struggled to breathe, my energy focused on removing the foot from my throat. I glared with angry eyes at the one above me.  
"Adam, I'm kind of enjoying how I always seem to catch you off guard like this." Cassius said to me in his usual way. The pressure from his foot was enough to make me gasp for air but not enough to make me pass out. His face changed from a smirk to one that was all too serious. He looked at me with those cold blue eyes and addressed me. "Adam, we need to talk."


	36. Russian Roulette

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XXXV: Russian Roulette – Adam

I glanced at Latvia from the corner of my eye, attempting to see if she was showing any hints of being aroused from her forced slumber. I had spread her out on a couch in what appeared to be an employee lounge from what I gathered from the door we entered in. After Cassius released his foot from my throat he instructed me to carry Latvia and follow him to a much safer area. The whole way I glared at the back of the man in front of me trying to figure out his intentions. Cassius did not say a word to me even as he closed the door behind us. I had taken an empty chair that would allow me to face him directly as he paced back and forth and keep an eye on my partner.  
A sound from above alerted my attention as a soft then violent pattering on the roof indicated what I was hoping would not happen again. "Dammit, its raining again?" I asked into the air as I reflexively looked upwards.  
"This weather is most likely going to continue." Cassius muttered to me whilst continuing his pacing back and forth.  
"Stop pacing and get to the point, what was so critical that you had to tranquilize Lat and take us aside?" I demanded as harshly as my aching throat would allow.  
He stopped as I directed and shifted his feet to face me. It was odd how his cocky grin was absent and replaced by a stoic expression for such a long period of time. Whatever the reason was that he had such a face it seemed to me that expression made him look more human. His words to me came meticulous and slow, differing from his usual sporadic words.  
"There is something out there, Adam."  
"Your right. There is a murderous psychopath bent on making my life more of a hell than what I am in now."  
"Shut the fuck up!" He yelled to me, a grimace replacing his former look and a sudden hand launched to grab the chair's back close to my shoulder. Cassius' voice became different, his words now coming out with a heavier accent than I've heard from him. I was not sure how he managed to get that close to me so quickly but I made sure that my face contradicted my thoughts.  
"I'm talking of something monstrous in nature running around as if it were unstoppable. Nothing seems to faze it, similar to a highly mobile tank."  
"Really now...?" I responded questionably. If what the Russian said happened to be true then it would explain--"those loud roars and sounds we keep hearing."  
"I'm sure that you heard it, yes, but I have seen it. It was brief but it looked formidable enough that it has become clear that this is no simple viral strain."  
"What are you implying, Cassius?"  
He brought his face to mine, his eyes only about an inch and a half away from my own. He smelled strongly of blood mingled with what could have been cologne for all I knew. The metallic odor couple with the aromatic smell certainly made me unsure whether or not to scrunch my face in disgust or breath in mildly just to further identify the unusual smell.  
"I'm implying that we should work together in all this, моя любовь. Something is out there that requires us to work together. We all have a common goal anyway."  
"What makes you believe that I will not refuse your offer?"  
"Because, Adam..." He began, his voice becoming huskier with each word, "Whether you believe it or not you cannot help but be drawn to me."  
"Agreed." I said as I reached behind me and pulled out a small mic from my side pocket on my backpack. "So much that I make sure that you are around me. Thing is I do so to allow myself opportunity to kill you, believe it or not."  
My words did not faze him much to my surprise, if any thing it lit a spark of humor in his eyes. His response to me was something that threw me off. "I doubt that you would kill me so readily. I believe that me being here only makes you enamored with me."  
"Thats not to far from the truth, I will admit." I said slowly and with my own disappointment at my admittance. "However, all that you have done is not so easily ignored."  
"I'm as human as you are, Adam, granted I have some...problems. That does not mean I cant change." he took my hand and brought it to his chest, his heart beating rapidly. "I cant help but feel excitement over what might happen next."  
"Really now?" I asked, quickly bringing my hand away from his chest. I eyed him and noticed a weapon in his gun holster. "What is this, a Colt?" I asked as I unholstered the weapon and and emptied out all the bullets except one. I spun the chamber and gave the gun to Cassius' out stretched hands. "I'm sure that you are familiar with this game. Pull the trigger five times to your skull to prove that you mean this joint effort."  
"Ahh, I love the way you are handling this. I love it when someone tries to put me in my place. Very well then, Adam." Cassius said as he brought the gun to his temple.  
"Один."  
_ Click.  
_"Два."  
_ Click._  
"Три."  
_ Click._  
"Четыре."  
_ Click._  
"...Пять."  
_ Click._  
"Very well done, Cassius. Considering it's a matter of chance how fortunate for you!" I applauded to him as he handed me his Colt with a satisfied smirk.  
"Is there anything else you would like for me to do?" He asked with a cocky smile with all too many implications to pick just one. How was I going to explain this to everybody?


	37. Smoker

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain

Chapter XXXVI: Seems Like That Smoker Is Jumping Around, Throwing Up Everywhere – Robert

Theo and Russ headed towards the stairs, "Why is it shit always happens to me" Russ moaned as he held his Assault Rifle tightly, aiming it at the top of the staircase.  
"Karma" Theo replied, "And unpaid tickets" Robert swiftly added on, he held his assault rifle, looking towards the windows as Lucy hid behind a counter, "I'll keep watch down here" he said as his eyes scanned the windows, the rain was pouring down like he had never seen before, it wouldn't matter if he saw anything or not, it would have to be against the window for it to be visible.  
Russ came to the top of the stairs, he quickly scanned the opened room with his eyes, he waved his hand for Theo to follow, "Doesn't seem to be anything up here" Russ and Theo looked around the room, Theo pointed towards a broken window, "I haven't heard any glass being broken since we got here....I'll take that old table and try to board it up" Theo said, as he laid down his shotgun on a nearby chair, "I'm just glad nothing is up here..." Russ turned around and walked down the stairs, "I'm getting a drink...".

Theo sighed and picked up the table, he carried it over to the window, it stuck the legs out of the window, it held.

Theo turned around, "I'm always doing this shit....no help, no not-" Theo stopped talking to himself when he started hearing loud, quite close coughing, Theo quickly spun around and didn't see anything, he heard it again and then he looked up.

A zombie was standing on the rafters, it's was leaning over, it's hands had claws that were dug into the wood, it coughed up puffs of smoke as it long tongue shot towards Theo, wrapping around his neck and upper body, "Hel-" Theo tried to yell but the zombie started to lift him off the ground, it's tongue closing around his neck.  
Theo kicked his feet around, pulling at the thing's tongue, he looked around and saw that the chair his shotgun was in!  
Theo quickly tried to swing his body towards the chair, he reached out with his hand but came up short as the zombie pulled Theo higher up, he swung his leg and knocked the chair over, 'Fuck!!!' Theo thought but as the shotgun landed, it shot.  
Theo suddenly heard the sounds of footsteps as someone rushed up the stairs.  
Russ stood at the top of the stairs, his eyes were filled with shock as he aimed his assault rifle at the zombie, "what the fuck is that thing" Theo looked at the puzzled Russ, he lifted his head and gave Russ the bird.  
Russ opened fire on the zombie, it let go of Theo and jumped between the rafters, dodging the gun fire, "You okay Theo?" Russ continued to fire, "We got something Up-" Russ was quickly cut off as the sound of the large windows down stair breaking, "Shit!" Russ heard Robert yell, "Get up stairs Lucy!" gun fire filled the air.  
Theo grabbed his shotgun and aimed at the zombie, "Die you fucking zombie" Theo pulled the trigger three times, the thing fell to the ground, Russ quickly walked over to it and pulled the trigger of his weapon, blood poured from it's head, Russ slowly stood up as he heard footsteps coming up the stairs, he grabbed someone off of the dead zombie and spun around, it was Lucy, "It's a horde!".  
Theo and Russ rushed to the edge of the stairs, they could see Robert, midway up the staircase, firing into the horde of zombies.  
Russ fired into a group that was near the windows as Theo pulled out a pistol and fired passed Robert.  
"Fuck" Robert yelled as he dropped the empty clip and replaced it, "I'm starting to run low".

The minutes that passed seemed like hours as the last of the horde had been killed from a well placed shot on Theo's part.  
"Nice shot" Russ said with a weak smile, "That right bitch!" Theo replied, "Your only good because your black" Russ said with a laugh, "Shutup fool".  
Robert let out a small laugh as he looked over towards Russ, "Whats in your pocket?".  
Russ looked confused then reached into his pocket, it was a pack of black and mild, "guess that thing was a smoker" Russ said as he reached for his lighter, "fuck...i left it downstairs" Russ turned to walk down the stairs but Lucy quickly jumped up and went down the stairs, "I got it!".  
Russ smiled, "Thanks Lus!" Russ looked towards Theo then Robert, "We need to get moving and quickly, we have to find some type of car or something"

Lucy found Russ' lighter laying next to a overturned table, she smiled weakly and turned towards the stairs, as she placed her foot on the first step, she heard a noise from behind her, she slowly turned around and saw a very fat zombie, slowly walking towards her, she was shocked.  
It stopped a few feet away from her, it had boils all over it's body, Lucy let out a scream.  
Russ, Theo and Robert were midway down the stairs when they saw the lard fed-looking zombie, "Hadnot?" Russ half jokingly said.  
Suddenly the zombie's eyes rolled up and it let out a weird noise as it threw up all over Lucy!.  
Theo opened fire on the zombie as Robert grabbed Lucy, after a few hits, the zombie blew up and let out nasty smell.  
Robert tried to clam Lucy as she clawed at her eyes, "i can't see, it hurts!" Lucy jerked around as loud moans could be heard, "Russ....please tell me that doesn't sound like a-" Russ and Theo pushed passed Robert and Lucy and opened fire as a horde of zombies rushed in.  
Robert grabbed Lucy and ran up the stairs, "Hold them off, i'll place her in that cloest"  
Russ and Theo continued to fire into the horde, "They just don't end!"

Robert set Lucy down as he opened the closest door, "No!" Lucy jerked about as she continued to clawed at her now bleeding eyes, she ran towards the boarded up window.  
"Lucy get back here!" Robert started to rush over towards her as the whole building started to shake, "What the fuck is going on" suddenly their question was answered.  
A deadly roar could be heard over all the gunfire, it shook them all to their core.  
Lucy placed her back against the wood, ".....i love you guys" suddenly a massive gray head busted through the wood and grabbed Lucy.  
"NOOOOOO" Robert yelled out, he aimed his gun but the thing pulled it's arm out as Lucy let out a scream.  
Robert rushed towards the window, his body became stiff, the thing they had been hearing, the beast that let out those roars that could only bring death was standing at the base of the building, it was massive, it stood almost a story tall, it's gray skin was marked with rashes.  
Robert aimed his assault rifle but didn't fire for fear of hitting Lucy.  
The gun fire ended as Theo and Russ rushed towards Robert, all three of them stood in shock as the demonic looking zombie ran off, with Lucy in toll.  
"That fucking thing is built like a god damn Tank" Russ said as his body started to shake, "We need to leave and get as far away from that thing as possi-" Russ was cut off as Robert swung around and knocked him out with a swift punch to the jaw.  
Theo and Robert's eyes locked, ".....if it stays going that way, it's heading towards an Army Outpost" Theo said with a nod, "I'll grab our stuff, you wake him up".


	38. Outpost Full of Zombies?

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain

Chapter XXXVII: Whats Worse Then An Army Outpost Full of Zombies? - Robert

Robert, Russell and Theo marched forward, through the pouring rain, the clouds remind dark even with the flashes of thunder and lightning.  
"We've got around three clips for each of our main weapons and six for each pistol" Theo remarked, he checked the ammo and weapons before they headed out, "I don't know how much of a punch that thing can take but we may need to find more ammo, if not better weapons within the outpost" Theo said as he swifted the bag to his other shoulder.  
Russell's eyes scanned back and forth, his hands firmly holding onto his assault rifle, "....mother fucking girl" Russell said under his breath, he was still quite pissed about being knocked out.  
Robert heard Russell but didn't want to push it, he knew Russell would be helpful and he couldn't take the chance of him running off and getting hurt.  
The mud was slowly them down, the rain continued to pour down, "I see it" Theo said quickly as he pointed forward, a few lights were on within the fences of the outpost.  
"I don't see that fucking Tank anywhere...." As soon as Russ said that, the same deadly roar could be heard, Russ sighed, he lowered his gun and shook his head, "What else could go wrong" another set of roars and moans could be heard, this time they sounded a lot closer and less unhuman as a zombie could be, "Goddammit, where the hell is my luck at?" Russ said as he shouldered his assault rifle and pulled out his pistol, "Let get moving!" he barked.  
Russ and Theo took the back, Robert took the lead, they fired at the on-coming horde.  
Robert was the first to reach the outpost, it's metal fence had been crushed, bodies of dead soldiers and zombies lay across the muddy ground, "It's looks like a god damn war zone" Russell said as he passed Robert, firing his gun again, "That looks like the last of them" Theo remarked as he entered into the outpost, "I'll check their weapons real quick".  
Robert looked towards Russ, "Here is the plan, Russ i want you to find their weapon's locker and get us some real fire power" Russ nodded, "Theo, i want you to find a radio and see if you can get us some help...more solders.....something, anything" Theo nodded and handed each of them a long bladed dagger, "Got it".  
They each looked at one another, "....Come back alive" Robert said as the two left.  
Robert looked around the grounds, he found a dead asian man, holding a blood stained katana, "Thanks" Robert said as he picked it up, he tied it around his hip and continued looking for the Tank and Lucy.

Theo found his way inside of the Radio Tower, "There it is" Theo said to himself as he grabbed the radio and turned it on, "Hello?, This is Theo...we have people alive here at Outpost..." Theo looked around and found a name, "Outpost Beta".  
Theo heard nothing but static for a solid three minutes until he heard a click, "This is Pilot Randy, please reply" Theo thrusted his hand into the air and grabbed the speaker, "Yes, We are still here" Theo smiled, "We need an EVAC".  
There was static again for a minute, "You say your at Outpost Beta?" Theo quickly replied with a yes.  
"I need you and anybody else with you, to be ready for pick up within an hour and a half" Theo's smile soon faded, "You don't understand, there is a-" Randy cut him off, "It's the best i can do....i have to fly there from our main breach, it's going to take time, just be ready, over and out" Theo was again left with static.

Russ was aimlessly walking around the outpost, he stopped and checked each and every dead body for anything of use, ".....eh?" Russ quickly turned around, he thought he heard the sounds of foot steps, "....Dammit" a metal door was slowly swinging from just being opened, it lead into a warehouse, ".....i bet Adam took my fucking luck with him" Russ readied his pistol and entered into the warehouse.  
the lights flickered and swung from above, Russ was already hating this place, "Just the perfect place to get jumped" Russ said to himself with a sigh.  
Russ slowly walked between piles of crates, he soon found a walkway, it was in the middle of the warehouse, leading each end of it.  
There standing under a flickering light was a man, he had blood running down his body, Russ was shocked, "Hello?" he said as he slowly moved forward, towards the man as he fell to his knees.  
Russ quickly stopped, "....the fuck?" shock ran over his body as the man's skin started to rip away, he started to cough and cough.  
Russ took a few steps backwards as the man coughed and a very long "tongue" came out of his mouth, "Your fucking kidding me" Russ aimed his pistol and fired.  
The smoker quickly rolled out of the way, it turned around and whipped it's tongue towards Russ.  
"AH!" Russ yelled out as the tongue smacked across his legs, knocking him down against the metal floor, the smoker pulled it's tongue back into it's mouth and run towards Russ as it coughed and coughed.  
Russ couldn't believe how quickly the smoker was on top of him, it pulled back it's hand to slash but Russ fired at the joint of it's shoulder, tearing it apart at the close range.  
It jerked in backwards, Russ used his elbows and feet and moved backwards, quickly getting back onto his feet, "Damn smoker" he fired and fired, emptying his clip into the zombie.

Robert knelled down in the mud, his rips were hurting him, he had been walking around the outpost, it wasn't as big as he had first thought but it was still big.  
"Where could it be....." Robert used the thought of Lucy to push the pain out of his mind, he stood up and continued walking.  
A few minutes had passed when a loud static noise filled the air, "Hello survivors" Robert knew he had heard that voice before, "This is General Holt, I've modified this simple outpost to withstand an attack from a small army....but" Robert shook his head, "As the last group of survivors arrive....it's time to test out my safe haven" Robert quickly looked around, he had to find Russ and Theo quickly, he stopped when he heard a loud click then static, "Chino, Russ....This is Theo, I'm up in the Radio Tower, that message is being looped, it's plays every few hours" Theo's words were calming, "...Fuck, we need to get out of here no-" Theo was cut off, suddenly very loud metal music was blasting from all speakers within the outpost.  
Robert froze, ".....That Cassius dude....he's rigged it.....thats what happened to these men.....they fell for the trap also" Suddenly the sounds of massive horde could be heard in the area, ".....Fuck" Robert said as he started to run towards the radio tower.


	39. Simple A Fucking Tank!

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain

Chapter XXXVIII: Simple. A Fucking Tank! - Robert

Robert slammed into the door at the base of the radio tower, he quickly spun around and fired three shots from his pistol.  
The sounds of thunder filled the air as three zombies fell to the ground, Robert quickly looked around, he knew that those were just the start of the horde coming for them.  
Robert turned around and banged on the door, "Theo!" Robert yelled, there was a click and the door swung open, Theo quickly moved outside, he handed Robert a backpack, "It's a backup radio" Robert nodded and swung it over his shoulder.  
Theo cocked his shotgun and swung it over his shoulder and pulled out his pistol, "Lets find Russ".

Russ cursed to himself as he fired his assault rifle towards a horde of zombies, that were rushing towards him.  
He dipped inside of a metal covered building, Russ slammed the door closed and locked it, "God Dammit" Russ' words had only left his mouth when he utter, "shit".  
Russ turned around and his eyes couldn't believe what he saw.  
Russ was standing within the Outpost's military laboratory, they had caged up different zombies, some had been tied down to tables and worked on.  
Russ held his assault rifle tightly, as he walked pasted the cages, zombie arms reaching out to him, they opened their rotted jaws as moans of the undead filled the room.  
Russ looked around, he found a empty cage and many human bodies that had been crushed to almost nothing, "...Looks like that fucking Tank has been in-" Russ stopped speaking as a thought entered into his mind, he walked over to a desk and picked up some of the paperwork that was laying on top of it, ".....No" Russ put the paperwork into his bag and shouldered his assault rifle, ".....you poor souls" Russ looked around the room at the caged zombies, he spotted a pistol in the hand of one of the crushed humans, he grabbed it and shook his head, ".....No rest for the wicked" Russ looked up and fired at the closet zombie, and then the next, then the next.

Robert and Theo held their ground as they fired into a group of zombies, they had just passed a warehouse and noticed that a group of zombies were beating on a metal covered building.  
Theo dropped the clip from his pistol and loaded another, "We're running low on ammo, we need to find that some more or we're fucked" the door opened from the metal building and Russ walked outside, he quickly spotted Theo and Robert, "Hey guys" Russ said with a small wave of his hand.  
Robert walked over to him, "I'm guessing no luck with the weapons?" Russ replied with a shake of his head, "Nothing....there are a few other buildings" Russ turned and pointed passed the metal building, "I haven't been there yet" Theo turned and fired his pistol, "Seems like a good time to go and check it out" Theo replied as his fired into a horde of zombies rushing them, Robert and Russ agreed as they also started firing.  
The rain started to pour down again, almost drowning out the sound of the loud music playing, "Dammit, Theo isn't there a way to stop the music?" Russ yelled as they made a ran for the buildings" Theo shook his head, "I tried....I'd have to blow up that fucking radio tower to do it" Robert ran passed them both, "Maybe we can.....if this place does have weapons, it would make sense for them to have some type of rocket or something" he looked back and fired at a zombie that was closing in.  
The three stopped and turned around, firing into the thinning horde, "....can't we get a break" Russ said as the last zombie fell down dead.  
The noise of the undead filled the air again, they quickly turned around and saw a horde of zombies trying to get inside one of the buildings, "....what could be inside of their-" Russ quickly cut himself off as he read the painted words on the other building, "Fuck Yeah!" Russ made a, almost crazed dash towards the building, Theo and Robert were lagging behind, "Weapons!" Russ yelled out.  
Robert continued to look towards the other building, the two buildings had about 100 yards between them, when they reached the doors of the building, Robert noticed that the other building has a massive hole in the side of it, the zombies hadn't noticed it yet.  
Robert looked at his two friends and made a ran for the building, "What are you doing?" Russ yelled out, "You two get the weapons and be ready, that tank is inside of that building and so is Lucy" Robert continued to ran as Theo and Russ entered into the building.

Robert had made it to the hole without any of the zombies seeing him, he took several deep breaths and then peeked through the hole, he didn't see or hear the tank.  
Robert stayed close to the ground, creeping along the metal containers, Robert looked around and finally saw her.  
Lucy was sitting on the edge of a rail which was apart of a walkway, which was just short of a story high, "Lucy!" Robert yelled out as he walked into the open, Lucy looked down at him, "Hide..." Robert looked confused by her words but then suddenly he heard a deep roar, he quickly ran towards a latter and made his way up onto the same walkway as Lucy, he started to make his way over towards her when she shook her head, telling him no.  
Robert looked confused but quickly aimed his pistol as a few zombies entered through the hole but before firing a shot, the tank stormed in, it swung it's massive arm and knocked the zombies away.  
Robert stood frozen, the beast struck fear into his soul as it made it's way over to Lucy.  
Robert aimed his pistol as Tank reached up towards Lucy but it didn't attack, "What..." Robert said to himself as he watched the Tank, carefully pat Lucy on the head.  
Robert stood confused by it's attacks when suddenly there was a loud explosion that knocked him off of his feet and Lucy off of the railing.  
The Tank grabbed her and set her down on the ground and then rushed out of the building.  
Robert quickly stood up and made his way down the latter, it wasn't until he was about halfway down when he noticed that the music had stopped, "Good job guys" He said out loud as he made his way over to Lucy.  
Robert picked her up in his arms and hugged her, "We didn't know if you were alive or not" Robert set her down and was shocked, her eyes had turned gray, "Lucy....whats happening to you?" Lucy took a few steps backwards then fell to his knees crying, "...i can....i can hear them" Lucy said, tears running down her face, "...i can hear all of their thoughts....most of them are driven by their hunger...they think nothing but to kill and eat...." Lucy started to shake more and more, "....i...i think i am turning into one of them..." Robert shook his head, tears formed in the corners of his eyes, "no...no...your going to be okay....i'll get you out of here..." Robert picked up Lucy and started to run.

Theo and Russ smiled to themselves as the rocket they had fired had hit the radio tower, "Damn we're good" Russ said, giving Theo a pat on the back, "...yep....now we just have to see if every fucking zombie in the city shows up or not" Russ sadly nodded to what Theo had just said.  
Suddenly they heard the sounds of a helicopter, they looked around and spotted it.  
Theo and Russ started to wave their hands, it flew towards them, "This is Randy....i'm going to land over-" the helicopter quickly pulled up as a large rock flew towards it, it had dodged the rock, Russ and Theo looked over and saw that the Tank was running towards the helicopter, "Dammit...you guys have got to get him off my back" the helicopter started to fly away with the Tank following behind it.  
Russ kicked the ground, "Dammit....how in the fuck are we going to deal with that thing!?" Robert ran up to them, he set Lucy down, "Was that the helicopter?" Theo nodded, "yeah but he can't land with that Tank down here" Robert shook his head.  
Robert looked around, "What toys did you two find?" Russ smirked and handed Robert a sniper rifle and a newer model of his assault rifle, "Nice..." Russ held up his assault rifle, which he was carrying two of and Theo had an auto-shotgun and an assault rifle.  
"Looks like we got some bang to bring to this party...." Robert loaded a clip into his sniper rifle and took aim at the Tank and fired.  
The bullet flew through the air and hit the Tank in the shoulder, it roared out in pain and turned towards them.  
Robert lowered his sniper, "...hehe...thought i could get a headshot....guess i missed" Russ smacked Robert on the back, "no shit!".


	40. The Calm Before The Storm

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain

Chapter XXXIX - The Calm Before the Storm – Adam

"It looks like you are going to be alright, Adam. Can you stand well enough yet?" Latvia asked me as she finished bandaging the wounds I had from broken glass and shards of wood. Our trip through the university was an arduous one full of Infected, dead ends, and shattered hopes. Throughout the building we came across numerous corpses both civilian and military, all seemingly packing heat. If we were not so set on getting out of this damnable city we most likely would have turned back at the evident lack of fortification and hopes of escape. I told Latvia that I could stand and got up with a pained wince. Fortunate me for having shallow leg wounds unlike my left arm.  
Latvia gave me a weak smile as I got up. Her face was covered in grime, sweat and blood that made her look more exhausted then she really was. She looked at my bandaged arm with concern. I told her that it was alright and I did not blame her at all. Getting pounced by that weird jumping Infected was terrifying and she felt responsible for letting it happen. Even as I reassured her that another second and I would have been gored and that her protection alone was enough she still felt troubled.  
We both looked in the direction of a loud noise and what we assumed to be a rather large expletive in Russian. Cassius had taken it upon himself to fix the equipment on the rooftop. The searchlights were easy enough to fix, all that was needed was to start up the generator located in the corner and soon lights were swiveling up above. Since he was the only one who had any kind of experience with technological repair we left that up to him.  
"We've made it far...Adam." Latvia said softly to me, rummaging casually through the ammo crates that were so abundant. Her assault rifle was loaded of course but there was something about how even with all this ammo the military personal that were dead on the roof had no time to use it all made me nervous. We were under a canopy that looked like something stolen from a home and garden store, it did protect from the elements I'm sure.  
"Yeah...we have. Soon it will be over, Lat. Soon we won't have to worry about whether or not our next breath will be our last" I told her, exhaling sharply and breathing in the musty smell of the night and corpses. I got used to this smell.  
I had a slight limp but nothing I could not manage. I made my way over to her and closed the ammo crate, proceeding to sit down on it. It did not take long for her to sit beside me. I wanted to make some comment at how they managed to bring sandbags and a minigun up here no problem. The university roof was tiered with a helipad at the end. From what I understood, this college was one that had a fairly ritzy student populace. Latvia told me awhile ago that it wasn't used that often, only when prestigious figures came to give lectures.  
"So the Russian and I are the only ones doing something useful? Must be nice to just sit around at a time like this. Aren't you two gonna do something?" Samuel alerted us from behind. We would have been startled if we had not obviously heard him coming.  
"Fuck of, Sam." Latvia snapped, "I had to patch Adam up for your information."  
"Sure we can do something, Samuel!" I smiled sweetly, "We could put a bullet in your head, or maybe even break your arms and legs...what do you think Latvia?"  
"Oh we could always toss him off the roof and listen for some kind of satisfying crunch. Then again the idea of a bullet is much quicker." Latvia replied as she pulled out the handgun from my strap and pointed it in Samuel's direction. The look on his face suggested he might have pissed himself.  
"Aww, c'mon guys! I was only joking!" He stammered to the two of us with wild eyes. He was too much of a coward to have his own rebuttal with word and gun. He scratched his head with nervousness and gave us a pleading look.  
"Funny because..."  
"We're not." I finished for her. I decided to quickly change the subject and gave him a much nicer look. We needed him so it was in our best interest to keep his morale high. "What exactly are you working on?"  
He seemed to perk up at this bit and Latvia putting my gun back in its holster only made his mood pick up even more. He began his words with excitement. "Molotovs! They have a large amount of Vodka up here along with other kinds of alcohol."  
"That's a good plan, actually. Good job Samuel." Latvia praised him with her own smile. I decided it was time for me to get up and see how Cassius was faring with the radio equipment. The walk was not long to my relief and he did not seem to notice me immediately until I greeted him.  
"Is everything alright, Cassius?"

"Да, it is." He answered me, not gazing up at me from his position. He was fiddling with the wiring of the radio. I was not sure how that would make it serviceable but then again everything here looked all too confusing for me.  
"If only Russ were her to toss it to the floor!" I joked with a laugh that quickly died away and was replaced by a sadness. I was not sure why but I sat down at my recollection of my friends. Cassius seemed to notice this, and stopped what he was doing to look at me.  
"Are you alright, Любовь?" He asked me casually. I suppose he meant it as something that would make me feel at ease knowing someone cared but coming from him it only made me feel at odds.  
"Yeah, I am. I was just thinking of how the others have not made it here yet. Would you stop speaking to me in that language? I have no idea what you're saying."  
"Да сэр." He replied with a smirk that seemed more pleasant than antagonistic. It still seemed to press my buttons but I was willing to dismiss it.  
"Latvia once asked me if we had a chance to escape without the others around would we take it knowing that they could be doomed." I told him as I experimented with the movement of my left arm.  
"And your answer was?" Cassius asked me flatly, returning to his job messing with the wires which left me with thoughts.  
"I'm not sure..." I replied with agitation.  
"We are all selfish, Любовь. I wanted no one but me to kill you. You want to escape no matter what. The girl wants nothing more than to stick by your decision alone no matter how terrible it is. That spas over there wants us to protect him with no concern for ourselves. Thing is, Adam, sometimes you have to be selfish--" he began to me as soon the dials for the radio glowed softly and a low hiss of static that seemed like angels whispering to my ears came out. "--in order to live another day. I'm giving you a decision you alone will make for us all." He got up and made his way over to me, crouching down and staring at me with those familiar eyes of a murderer.  
"Hello is anyone out there, please respond. over."  
"Do we wait for your friends...or do we leave?" He asked me calmly, his face showing indifference to my decision. I stare blankly at him, torn between my morals and my own conscience.  
"Hello is anyone out there, please respond. over."


	41. Reaching The Final Goal

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain

Chapter XL – Reaching The Final Goal – Robert

They all rushed towards the helicopter.  
**What Can I Do?**  
Robert set Lucy down inside of the helicopter, he quickly turned and fired his assault rifle, along with Theo and Russ at the Tank as it ran towards them, yelling out in a rage of unmet blood lust.  
**I Can't Let Them Die, Can I?**  
"You have to get on now!" Randy yelled out, "We don't have time" Russ, Theo and Robert stepped inside of the helicopter as it started to lift off the ground.  
**It Won't Stop, Will It?**  
The helicopter started to quickly lift into the air, it was was about two-stories high when the Tank jumped upwards and grabbed onto the bottom of the helicopter, slowly causing it to pull them down.  
**Should I Let It Just Kill Them?**  
"Get it off of us!" Randy yelled to them, Russ and Theo aim out of the side of the helicopter and fired at the Tank, it did nothing but cause the Tank to start shaking about, it's roars were louder then the sounds of the helicopter's engine.  
**Should I Let Them Kill It?**  
"We're going to crash!" Randy yelled out again, Russ and Theo grabbed onto rail as they started to spin around, Robert held onto Lucy, "It's going to be okay, i'll protect you"  
**No, I'll Protect You**  
Lucy stood up and grabbed and pulled the katana free from it's sheath, "What are you doing?" Robert yelled out, he tried to grab Lucy's arms but she backed up to the edge of the opening.  
**I Won't Let It hurt You**  
Lucy smiled, it was simply the sweetest smile any of them had ever seen, Lucy turned around and jumped out of the helicopter, "No!" Robert yelled out.  
**It Would Be Better This Way**  
Lucy landed on the Tank's shoulder, She yelled out as she drove the katana into it's shoulder, It yelled out and let go of the helicopter.  
**It Won't Hurt to Say Goodbye**  
The helicopter quickly rose up as the Tank and Lucy fell towards the ground, "We can leave now" Randy said, Robert looked over the edge, Lucy had landed next to the tank, tears dripped from his face as Russ and Theo grabbed onto him.  
**Because, It'll Only Be a Short Time Until We Say Hello Again**  
Suddenly Lucy slowly stood up, "She's alive!" Robert yelled out, "She's alive!" Russ quickly told Randy, they started to lower down, she looked up at them and smiled.  
**I Knew They Wouldn't Leave Me**  
Lucy stood up and smile, "I Love You Guys!" Robert, Russ and Theo all smiled, "We Love you too Lucy" The world seemed to stop, Lucy slowly turned her head back.  
**Because...**  
The massive fist of the Tank crushed down onto her.  
**...**_**They**__**Love**__**Me**_

Robert set between Russ and Theo, "I'll have to drop you three off at a different outpost, I'm getting another report for a EVAC" Randy said, "It's near the college".  
Robert wanted to question Russ and Theo if they thought it could be Adam or not but the scene of Lucy's death continued to play in his mind, this would be something that would haunt him for the rest of his life.


	42. The Message

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain

Chapter XLI - The Message, The Danger – Adam

"Hello? Hello? Can you hear us?" I asked into the microphone. Everyone had crowded around the radio and waited whatever response my question held. I looked at them all expectantly with the microphone in my hand near my lips. Latvia and Cassius said nothing at the decision I made. Maybe if Samuel had known about the others he would have argued for us to hold out until they make it here. Whatever the reason was we were all ready to leave this infested city.  
At first the static came to our ears and then words that uplifted our spirits. "I hear you loud and clear, it's good to know that there are still survivors out there. How are you all holding up?"  
"We are okay, a bit injured but alive at least. There are four of us. Are you capable of picking us up from the top of the university?" I said into the microphone carefully.  
"Yes, I'm able to. With the military gone from this site it's up to us citizens to help escape. This is News Chopper 5; we have been broadcasting through channels trying to reach those who have ended up at empty extraction points."  
"Understood on our part, can we expect an arrival soon?"  
"Yes, of course! Are you prepared?"  
"We are ready to leave, sir! No doubt about that!" I exclaimed into the microphone with the stifled cheers of the group resounding and echoing into the transmitter.  
"Alright, ETA will be around 15 minutes. Everyone, just hang in there a few minutes longer."  
I was ready to broadcast our affirmation to the pilot but the radio itself suddenly emitted an ear splitting screech that made us all cover our ears with scrunched faces of pain. Though the sound itself was not long, it was loud and alarming enough to arouse what sounded like a mass amount of Infected screeching themselves and howling that seemed to be coming closer and closer. The horde.  
"Everyone," Cassius said immediately as he brought his shotgun at attention, "Take point and prepare for an assault!" he commanded. We all wasted no time, positioning ourselves behind sandbags and debris as the Infected began to pour suddenly and with great amounts out of the door.


	43. Said The Spider to The Fly

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain

Chapter XLII: Said the Spider to the Fly – Adam

"Its here, everyone! ITS HERE!" Samuel yelled to us through the now fading echo of our weapons and the dimmed hiss of spent fire. We all immediately looked in his direction, wondering how he managed to make it to the helipad so quickly from our position. Only made we wonder how much he put on the line in our defense against the horde. There was no time to discuss that with the group and instead I voiced our course of action as we saw the helicopter hover over the pad and Samuel getting in.  
"MOVE IT!" I yelled to Latvia and Cassius as I pointed to the already known vehicle here to rescue us. One would think that not even a tornado swooping down or a volcanic explosion would stop us from getting to that helicopter. What did make us pause was the pounding of the ground, a roar that shook us to the core, and a piece of the roof that flew and crashed not too far from where Cassius stood.  
The three of us looked at the monstrosity in terrified awe. We three had heard it before. Cassius has seen it run amuck. However, actually being this close to the creature was horrifying. Its skin was bulging and strapped that made it look like a bodybuilder that had suddenly bloated with a torso that seemed too different from the rest of its body. The head of the creature was small and was bald, covered in what appeared to be rashes. There were a few bullet wounds on its body that stood out by having small red indention into its gray, disease ridden flesh. It almost made me think of a grotesque mockery of a gorilla.  
"What is that thing...?" Latvia asked us wildly as if we knew.  
"Its....a TANK! RUN FOR THE HELICOPTER!" I screamed to them as I pulled the trigger, aiming at the monster as I rushed backwards. As Soon as the other two followed my lead I looked behind me to register where I was going and was alerted by the sudden rise of the chopper and an absent Samuel. "Bastard! Where are you going!?" I screamed into the air.  
Samuel must have been attuned to my voice as soon his own came out the radio that was near us. His voice was a bit shaky but he began to pass us his message. "Everyone, the pilot is going to hover around; this monster is too much of a hazard. I suggest you deal with it as soon as possible!"  
"MOTHERFUCKER!" I yelled into the air. Even though what just happened was logical it still made me upset. I had little time to vent with the unstoppable charging monstrosity that was coming our way. I turned quickly to Latvia, a word of caution to late on escaping my lips. She too looked up at the fleeing vehicle and was taken by surprise when a large fist swatted her across the platform with swiftness. She travelled a good distance before slamming into the rooftop with a sickening sound. I could not tell whether she was dead or alive from my distance. What I did know for certain was that this monster made my vision turn red with anger at what it did to Latvia.  
"OI! OVER HERE YOU BASTARD!" I yelled at it, firing away into its flesh. I could almost see some of the bullets dig in slightly and then fall out. I dismissed how formidable this thing and made sure to attract its attention away from Latvia. My actions seemed to work as it quickly changed its pace and target to me. My best bet was to find some way to keep distance enough to take it down and minimize injury.  
There was one thing I had forgotten when I attracted its attention. My injured leg. The sudden and furious movement that I was making caused it to give out painfully as I collapsed on some sandbags with an astonished grunt. The tank was on me in a flash. With a roar and massive hands behind its head, it brought them down in a powerful smash. Instinct came over me and I rolled out of the impact's way, feeling the force and breeze from it rush powerfully by my ear. I scrambled back to my feet, only vaguely aware that I had dropped my rifle from mu sudden collapse. I looked at it with anger in my eyes. I was not sure how I would manage to do this even with Cassius giving cover fire and my hands already holding my SIG 226s, but I was going to damn well manage.


	44. A Memory

Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain

Chapter XLIII: A Memory That Will Always Haunt - Adam

"Cassius, DO SOMETHING!" I yelled out to him. The monster gave me little time to aim my guns at it, using its own speed to keep me at bay with avoiding its blows. With each missed throw or thrust of its arms I felt the ground beneath me shake and my chest quiver with fear. With the luck of the divine I was managing to keep a distance but I could not keep up this game for long. My leg was becoming more and more unstable and the familiar heat was beginning to rise in my lungs.  
_**Dammit, keep going!**__  
_ "Cassius!" I called out again, hoping that he could hear me. The absence of gunfire startled me. It seemed right now to be our only option and without that sound I began to panic yet again.  
"Adam, keep it up! I'm out of ammo!" I heard him call out to me as I scrambled over barricades and slid down sandbags. I wanted to make a nasty remark but something else was occupying my attention at the moment.

"DO SOMETHING!" I yelled back frantically, aiming my handguns behind me and firing at the beast. It was doing nothing to slow it down and at this rate I would soon be done for. I only assumed the worse when I tripped over a loose piece of debris and slammed into the ground.  
_**Fuck. Get up. Get up. Don't give in.  
**_ I turned to see the beast in front of me. A large roar escaped its throat and the nauseating stench of its breath and odor made me cringe in disgust. There was something about how it pounded its chest like an animal and gave me a look of sheer ferocity that made me go limp. If it were for Cassius I might have died there and then. His shotgun pierced the air around me, its blast music to my ears and its results a salvation of its own. Somehow the Russian had made his way behind the creature and gave it a point blank shot right to the back of its disproportioned head. This seemed to stun it. Causing its arms to go limp to its sides. Its mouth was agape as if it was in shock. It fell to its knees, eyes wild and animalistic. I wasted no time getting myself up, quickly reaching into my backpack and bringing out the coup de grace. I pulled the pin and shoved it into its mouth.  
"Time for you to just fade away." I said with a grimace as I pulled Cassius alongside me and we ran as far away from it as we could, ducking behind some cover as an explosion filled with blood and gore rocked the building. I looked at him, seeing that triumphant grin of his at what we had done and shook my head to clear my thoughts. We got back up, painfully, but surely enough. While Cassius took the time to flag the helicopter back down I made my way to Latvia.  
Her eyes were closed, her body splayed out on the rooftop and blood all to fresh coming out of her slightly opened mouth.  
"Lat, hun, can you hear me?!" I called out to her, grasping her hand in my own and looking at her expectantly. Her eyes fluttered open at the sound of her name but they held much more pain than warmth.  
"Adam..."  
"Lat, don't worry!" I said to her, tears beginning to form in my eyes as I looked at her condition. She was bleeding in several places; long cuts that looked rather deep were all over her body and went through her clothes. "Lat, we are getting out of here."  
"Adam...I don't think I can make it..." She looked at me without blinking her eyes, her voice so full of pain and emptiness it shook me to the core.  
"That's BULLSHIT, LAT!" I yelled to her, my voice choked with tears and my vision becoming blurry through its mist. "I can't let you just stay here!"  
In the back of my head I was aware of the sound of a hovering helicopter near. In the back of my head I knew that Cassius was looking at the two of us, not interfering. In the back of my head I knew more than I would allow myself to believe.  
"Lat..." I began, my voice becoming as soothing as I could manage through my own emotions, "Remember my promise?" I asked her pulling the necklace from under her shirt and holding it for her to see. She gazed at it momentarily before she coughed violently. Globs of blood came from her mouth but a weak grin soon after.  
"I'm not one to back down from a promise!" I told her strongly. I pulled her arm onto my shoulder and picked her up off the ground with a grunt. She made no signs of protest as I led her onto the helicopter, even while we were up in the air she made no sound.  
I looked at the two men with pain on my face. Even with this receiver on my head I did not care to much with what they had to say, all I could do was hold Latvia close as we flew into the night.  
"Where are we going to?" Samuel asked the pilot.  
"Military base not too far from here, with the lack of pilots in the area they are grateful for people like me" The pilot responded before he coughed deeply into his headset.  
"Is this where our trials will end?" Cassius asked rhetorically. He looked at me with those words, drawing my attention away from Latvia's shallowing breath.  
"I...just don't know, Cassius." I said to him. Latvia was growing heavier and heavier in my arms.  
"Adam..." I heard her say even in the loud hum of the helicopter. It seemed distant from herself and weak.  
"Yes! What is it!" I asked her expectantly.  
"Adam...thank you." she said, clutching my shirt in a strong grip.  
"Latvia..." I said low to her. I could feel tears welling up again in my eyes. She said nothing else to me. Her grip loosened and her arms fell limply to her sides. Her eyes were closed and a smile on her face.  
"Latvia...?" I said again, startled at her lax positioning. "Latvia!"  
_**Latvia?**__  
_ "Lat, c'mon stay with me!"  
_**Are you...?**_**  
** "Latvia don't fall asleep!"  
_** Don't leave me, not like this.  
**_ "...Latvia..."  
_**I'm still here because of you. Its not fair.  
**_ "This is...don't do this to me!"  
_**Its just not fair. Don't leave me alone!  
**_ "Why did it have to be like this?" I said as I broke down and began to weep, holding her closer in my arms. I could feel Cassius' hand on my shoulder as if to offer reassurance. I could feel myself in the air high above the city, where I might have doomed my friends from escaping. I could feel the blood coursing through my veins. I could feel her limp body in my arms.  
I couldn't feel her voice. I couldn't feel her strength. I couldn't feel her courage. I couldn't feel her very being. She was further and further away from me with each passing second and I was terrified.  
"I promised..." I began through my tears. "I promised you..."


End file.
